Revelation
by Death-Angel-Hikari
Summary: Ever since Kai joined Team BBA, his teammates have been curious about his past. The most curious of all was Takao, who'll do anything to discover the truth. The opportunity arrives one day in the form of a simple manila envelope...
1. Prologue

**Prologue:Curiosity**

The young slate-haired teen sighed as he got up from the bed, laying aside a rather thick file. He walked over to the window, gazing out at the storm that had begun over three hours ago.

_More than enough time to – _the young teen thought, crimson eyes narrowing at he recalled…

_No!_ He shouted silently, shutting his eyes tight and shaking his head. _You vowed you wouldn't! _

He raised his eyes to the glass panel, pale fingers brushing the smooth surface. Looking down at his hand, he could almost see…_feel_…the scars that had marred it years ago.

_Why?_ He asked himself, asking the same question he'd asked himself over the years. _Why me? And how did it happen?_

Downstairs, the chiming of the grandfather clock alerted him to the time, snapping him out of his reverie. His head snapped up from viewing his hand.

_4 o'clock_. He thought, becoming his business-like self in an instant. _Time to call the others to the training room._

He walked over to the door that led to the outer hall and pulled it open. His faint, measured footsteps receded down the hall as the door swung shut with a quiet click. On the bed lay the pale cream folder.

_Hah! Max fell for it!_ Takao Kinomiya thought as he stole quietly down the hallway. _He can be so gullible sometimes; I pity him_. He stopped for a while to listen for any sign that his captain might be coming.

_Phew!_ He thought, letting out a sigh of relief. He didn't think that his plan would work out so well! He leaned against the wall just outside his captain's room and thought back.

The 'plan' had started formulating itself this morning at breakfast. Takao and the other members of Team BBA had been gathered at the table when a package arrived. Instantly, Kai Hiwatari, the team captain had gotten up from the table and went to receive it. He had returned to the table almost immediately, this time clutching a legal size brown manila envelope. Without a word, he had placed it on the counter and then had sat back down.

Almost instantly, the brunette had felt a compelling desire to take a look at the envelope. As he passed the counter, he stole a glance at it; it was addressed solely to Kai.

Suddenly, he had recalled all the questions regarding his captain. He had appeared so suddenly in his city, it was as though he was a ghost. And when he had asked Chairman Daitouji about the elusive blader, he had drawn a blank. No one else from the BBA knew much about him, except that he had been the defending champion until Takao came along. Ever since then, the questions had built up inside the young blader. And, just then, as he had glanced at the envelope, he felt that inside were the answers to his – and he was sure everyone else's – questions.

That afternoon, a few minutes before four o'clock, he'd locked himself in the bathroom that he shared with Max (Max's room was next to his, and neither minded sharing a bathroom). After two minutes of waiting, Max entered _his_ room and knocked on the door, explaining that he'd liked for them to be downstairs early so that Kai wouldn't 'blow his top'.

"I…I can't Max…" he'd said, opening the door just enough for one eye to peek through the gap. "I'm not feeling too…good –" At that point, he'd shut the door quickly and made retching noises. Max had knocked on the door again, asking Takao if he could still hear him, a question to which Takao replied with a groan. Max had said he'd try to get Kai to excuse him.

Now, about five minutes after four, Takao approached the door to Kai's room, opening it as quietly as he could. He stepped into his leader's 'sanctuary' as the door swung shut behind him. He glanced about, noting that the elusive teen kept a neat room. Thunder crashed outside, making Takao jump.

Letting out a tense sigh, he made his way over to the desk in the far corner of the room. He found what he was looking for: the envelope. He flipped it over and read the return address.

_Hmm…_he thought as the words registered. _Some juvenile center located in Akihabara…Wonder why Kai would get in touch with a juvenile center…_ Shrugging nonchalantly, he lifted up the flap and reached in, his fingers brushing against a crisp piece of paper. He excitedly pulled it out.

_Mr. Hiwatari:_

_This is to let you know that your previous letter regarding your existing files, which are currently in our possession, has been carefully considered. Though its reason and nature eludes us, we have, after careful deliberation, decided to accede to your request. Enclosed are photocopies of the files currently in our possession. Should you find anything missing, kindly contact us as soon as possible._

_On a less serious note, we, the staff of Sento-Daitouji Juvenile Hall are pleased to know that you are making it on your own sooner than we expected, and seeing you as successful as you are now gives us great pleasure in having known you for the years you were a part of our program._

_ Sincerely yours,_

_ Shinji Takeda_

_Director-Manager_

_Program?_ Takao raised a questioning eyebrow. He felt disappointed. The envelope that had promised so much only gave him more questions instead of the answers. Dejectedly, he began to slip the paper back into the envelope, when a particular line in the letter caught his eye. He yanked it out again and reread it. _Enclosed are photocopies…_ he read. His eyes widened excitedly.

Stuffing the letter back in, he glanced around quickly. Quick as a flash, he spotted the file sitting on Kai's bed. He happily snatched it up, looking very much like a kid who had just swiped some candy.

He grinned as he read the label on the folder. Spelled out in computer-generated letters was Kai's name.

Hurrying now, he walked out of the room and back up the hall to his room. He didn't want to be caught snooping in Kai's room; that was too dangerous. He'd investigate his leader's life in the privacy and protection of his own room.

Entering his own, very messy room, he did a little victory dance. His curiosity would finally pay off.


	2. Chapter 1: Broken

A/N: It's me, DeathAngel-Hikari! Wooh! I got a story up! I know, I know, I should have put this up in the last chapter - the prologue - but I was too lazy to do it.I already got a couple of reviews - did you know 'couple' means 'two'? I got just that - two reviews - but I'm happy!

**Natea -** Thank _you_ for reading the prologue, and thanks on your comments, especially the one about mywriting style...lol. Anyway, just so you know, I try to make mycharacters act like they'resupposed to, unless there's a valid reason for me to do otherwise. Oh, and about the envelope...you'llfind out in this chapter.

**Storm-Of-Insanity - **You'll find out what's in the folder in_this_ chapter, and Kaiwas_not_ a criminal...yet... Thanks for the review!

Anyway...on with the story!

**Chapter 1 – Broken**

Takao locked the door and then walked over to his bed, sweeping aside some knickknacks before sitting down. He flipped open the folder and scanned the first page. It was some sort of written oath.

_I, Kai Hiwatari, swear that these recordings, which have been told to my social worker, are 100 true and in chronological order. These events occurred over a span of seven years. Also, when the need arises, the precinct may use these as evidence in court, under the provision that my rights, such as withholding of my true name, be observed. _

_Pretty formal_, Takao thought, scanning it again. He took a deep breath before flipping to the next page. He quickly scanned it. The handwriting was tiny, and looked like it had been written like a girl. His eyebrows shot up. He'd seen Kai's handwriting, and it didn't look anything like this.

Just then, he spotted a small footnote in the bottom left corner that said this page was 'recorded by the social worker assigned', which meant it had just been narrated by Kai.

He shook his head, chuckling slightly at how silly he was being. He sat down on his bed and began to read.

_It's cold. Well, it's just my head that's cold, but still. I cuddle up under the thick blanket, only to be shaken awake, a familiar hand on my shoulder. I peek out to see my mother._

_"Kai," she says, smiling that bright smile of hers. "It's time to get up."_

_"Mom…" I groan, snuggling back down. "It's not even seven o'clock!"_

_"Okay. I guess your dad and I will just have to enjoy the beach by ourselves." She turned away. I sprung up out of bed._

_"We're going to the beach?" I ask excitedly. I hurl myself at her, hugging her around the legs. "Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" I had been waiting for this trip since I asked them last week._

_She laughs, her face crinkling up. "All right, settle down, little whirlwind," she says, reaching down to pry my arms from around her legs. "Just get ready. I set your trunks out on the small table in your bathroom. _

_I squeal and race into the bathroom across from my bed._

That was when I was three years old, nearly two years ago. Now I am five years old. It's cold, even colder than last night. I'm sitting on top of my hands at the bottom of step of the cellar stairs. My head is tilted back as I listen to the voices rising and falling upstairs. My back and shoulders are throbbing, but I can't move yet. Mother would hear the steps creaking; she'd know that I moved without her permission. It's like that all the time. I can't move, sleep, or eat without _her_ permission.

Everyday, it's the same. Mother wakes me up from sleeping on the old army cot in the basement. I dress as quickly as possible to catch my dad before he leaves for work, then I perform my first chore of the day: cleaning the kitchen. My mother sits in front of the television the whole time I'm doing this, so I am usually able to steal a piece or two of toast. Not that she notices, but one time I tried eating a little of the leftover sushi from lunch and got punished bad. She locked me in the cellar for two whole days that time. After I perform all my chores, which include cleaning all the rooms in the house, I run to the nearby preschool and steal leftover food from the cafeteria. Of course I do this while The Mother is taking her nap or puttering in her sorry excuse for a garden. But I have to be careful, because if she finds out I've eaten something without her knowledge, she flies into a rage and I receive a beating or two. And finally, in the evening, _if_ I have performed all my chores for the day and _if_ I haven't committed any 'crimes', I may be fed a morsel of food.

Suddenly I hear a tinkle as Mother slams another glass on the countertop. She's been drinking again. I count the seconds – _3…2…1 _– until I hear the door open with a creak. Right on schedule, as always.

"Get up here, _now_!" she shouts hoarsely. She slams the door shut before I can even move from my spot.

I climb the stairs slowly; I'm not in the mood to play one of her 'games', but I have to. Otherwise, she'll do who-knows-what to me.

I open the door and raise my eyes from the floor. My eyes search the room for Father, but he is nowhere in sight. I raise a questioning eyebrow; a costly mistake, I soon learn.

Mother's hand is a blur as it rushes at my face. "_You_!" she shouts, her face as red as a ripe tomato. "You're the cause of all this!" Her other hand rushes at me, and I brace myself this time for a slap. However, it's not a slap, but a punch. I'm knocked off my feet.

Lying on the floor, I slowly raise my hand. It is the only movement I'm allowed to make before I speak.

"_Yes_?"

"What…happened?" I ask, staring up into her evil blue eyes. "Where's…Dad?"

"Your father left me!" She shouts back, picking me up by the front of my shirt.

"Huh?"

"Don't you get it?" her voice rises with her anger. "He's _gone_! That asshole shoved a bunch of papers in my face while you were tending to the garden out back. To make it simple enough for _you_ to understand, boy, we're no longer married, _and_ he's fighting for custody of you!"

_Fighting…custody of you…_ these words fill my head. I try to remember what this would mean for me, but I can't. As if she can read my thoughts, Mother continues her tirade.

"He said he's going to try to get you away from me because, _he_ says, I treat you _bad_!" She glares at me, her eyes dangerous slits of blue, and I brace myself for another of her beatings.

Unexpectedly, she drops me. Unprepared for the sudden fall, I land _hard_ on my back. A small groan escapes my lips.

I quickly regret that small sound I let escape. I can feel a throbbing in my rib cage; Mother has kicked me.

"Shut up! I didn't give you permission to make any sound, did I?" She hauls me upward again, this time by pulling on my ear. I bite my lip to keep from making another sound. All I can do is wait for her to let go, which she does after what seems an eternity. She glares at me one more time before pointing towards the cellar stairs, the signal that I can go to bed. Of course, I obey. It's what I was trained to do.

Downstairs, I curl up on the army cot in a meek attempt to conserve body heat. I shut my eyes tight to try to stop the tears from coming; if she hears me sobbing, she may punish me more severely.

In a few minutes, I drift off to sleep. That is the only time I can be free and forget who I was and what I have become – Mother's prisoner. It is only at night that I can release myself in my dreams.

I am startled awake by a sharp knock on the door. I jump up and grab my spare change of clothes from the broken table beside the cot. In a few minutes, I am dressed, and I rush upstairs, expecting to see Mother with another list of chores to add to my current ones. Instead, I am greeted by a police officer with rather messy black hair and blue eyes.

"Hello there," he says, bending down to look me in the face. "I'm Hideo. What's your name?"

"I'm…Kai. Kai Hiwatari," I say, my face a puzzled mask. "Why do you want to know?" I ask, peering questioningly up at him.

The officer chuckles as he places a hand on my shoulder. I flinch, but only slightly as I realize that he isn't going to hurt me. "You don't have to be suspicious, Kai. We're here to help you."

"We?"

"I and my colleague, Minoru." He answers, gesturing towards a twenty-something year-old cop with brown hair and bright green eyes. He smiles at me and waves; I wave back.

"Where's Mother?" I ask, my eyes searching for her.

"She's been brought to the precinct downtown." Minoru replies, approaching me. "Meanwhile, we're going to bring you in for a health check, and to introduce you to your social worker."

"What's a 'social worker'?"

"Hmm…" Minoru looks off into space, rubbing his chin. "That's…a real hard one to explain." He looks back at me, a small grin on his face. "Oh, well…I guess you'll just have to find out when you meet her."

The first impression I have of the hospital is that it's _big_. My eyes must have been the size of saucers for Hideo laughs as he catches me staring up at the building "What, you've never seen a hospital before?" He stoops down to pick me up – I have no idea why he did that. "C'mon, you have an appointment to keep, so you can't dilly-dally.

I begin to feel scared the minute we step into the hospital. The corridors were straight, and it smelled slightly of chemicals and medicine; in fact, there are no hints of danger, but I can't help but feel as though Mother will appear around a corner and take me back; that was the way I'd been brought up. As a result, I wouldn't move until either Hideo or Minoru checked the next corner we'd come to. At first they didn't want to, but they complied in the end; they were going out of their way to be nice to me and make me feel safe, for which I was grateful.

After a few minutes of walking the halls, we arrive at this huge room decorated with various cartoon characters. A nice-looking lady, who had auburn hair and was dressed in white, comes in, takes me into her arms and thanks the officers, who grin at me before they leave. "Kai," Hideo says, looking over his shoulder, "we'll be in the main lobby when they're through with you. We still have to take you to meet your social worker, remember?"

My mouth opens, but nothing comes out, so I just nod. The lady smiles at me.

"What's your name again?" she asks, looking into my eyes. Her voice sounds rather young, and it had a hint of a laugh. "I'm afraid I didn't catch it."

I give my name again, looking about me warily. The lady notices this.

"Don't worry, Kai. You're only here for a check-up, and then you'll be on your way, okay?" she says, smiling that smile. "Now," she adds, walking me over to this steel table. "Please remove all articles of clothing-"

"Huh?"

"Your clothes, Kai." She explains patiently, at the same time moving a small stool closer to the table. I guessed the stool was for me to use. "I need you to take off your clothes – except your underwear, of course – so I can clean you up a bit. The doctor wants you to be a little cleaner so he can notice things that shouldn't be there."

I didn't understand all of what she said, but I do what she asked. In a few minutes I am wearing only my ugly briefs, the ones with a large hole in the side. I think I saw the lady's eyes widen with shock at the sight of me, but it could have been my imagination. Anyway, she turned quickly and walked out of the room, leaving me to climb up onto the table by myself.

I look down at myself. My arms and legs were covered with bruises, faded purple on top of blue and black, marks of where I had been grabbed, punched, and even slammed down on the countertop or on the floor. And then there was the bruise in my side where Mother had kicked me last night, and the stab wound from last year…

At this point, the lady walks back in, holding a sponge. To make a long story short, she 'cleaned me up a bit', as she said she would, and then dressed me in this long white shirt thing, called a 'gown'. After that, she escorted me into the next room, where a doctor was waiting.

After performing what must have been standard procedure in a check-up, he leaned over to the lady – whom I knew by now as a nurse – and gave her some last-minute instructions. The nurse nodded and brought me back into the other room, where she had me dress in some 'new' clothes.

It all happens so fast. Before I know it, I'm out in the lobby, standing next to the policemen again, and clutching a lollipop. I try hard not to squeal; I haven't had a lollipop in _years_. I quickly unwrap it and start to suck on it. The three adults seem pleased by my reaction.

"Well, here he is," the nurse is saying, patting my shoulder lightly. She's seen the bruises, and she knows which parts are rather tender to the touch. "All dressed and ready to go. You're taking him to meet her now, right?" she asks, her hand moving to ruffle my hair slightly. I pull away from her hand; I don't like having my hair ruffled.

"Yes, of course." Minoru says, smiling down at me.

"We'd better be going," Hideo adds, stooping down to pick me up again. I don't try to stop him, for I feel safe in his arms. "We don't want him to be late."

I wave goodbye to the nurse, who waves back. Soon we are back in the police car and speeding off down the highway. I must have asked a million questions, because, what seems like five minutes later, Minoru is chuckling and trying to climb into the backseat.

"Calm down, little fellow! I can't keep up with all your questions!"

"Sorry." I say, instantly feeling guilty.

"Don't worry about it," Minoru says, pulling me onto his lap. "Anyway, your social worker is a very nice person; I've met her before. So there's no need to feel nervous."

"Okay."

I settle down for the rest of the ride. Soon the steel and concrete gives way to trees and fields; we were out of the city.

"Where are we going?"

"Wakayanagi," Hideo answers, glancing at me through the rear-view mirror. "The social worker lives there. Oh, yeah, you're going to be staying at a foster home for a few weeks, just until we can contact your dad-"

"You know where my dad is?" I scramble into the front seat, excited.

"He left us his contact number. As I was saying, you'll be staying at a foster home for a while until we can tell your dad that you're safe. After that, he'll come and get you."

"The foster home you'll be staying at is more of a facility," Minoru added, leaning forward to get a better look at me. "And it's quite near your social worker's house, so she can visit you more often. That way, if we need to take the issue to court-"

"Court?"

"Someone…with more power has to decide on something regarding your case."

"Oh,"

"Anyway, if need be, we'll have a lot of statements from you, which we will use as evidence against your mother."

"Okay."

The car is silent for several minutes. Just as I begin to wonder what can happen to me over the next few weeks or so, Hideo stops the car.

"Okay, everyone out."

"Why?"

"We're here."

I peer out of the window. It is simple wooden house, one with a front porch. Excited, I hop out and run towards the front door. I barely hear Hideo and Minoru behind me.

I stop just short of the front door. Something stops me from entering abruptly. I look behind me to check if my two new friends are behind me.

Minoru catches up to me first. Smiling down at me – probably to make me feel better – he stretches out an arm and raps sharply on the door.

I hold my breath.

A/N: Okay, everyone, please R&R! Arigatou! Peace out!


	3. Chapter 2: Memories

A/N: It's me again! Arigatou gozaimasu to all those who read and reviewed. Gomen I couldn't memorize your pennames. Anyway, you know who you are...;

Disclaimer: (I forgot to do this with the last two chapters...)I do not, in any way, own Bakuten Shoot Beyblade and/or its characters. They are the sole properties of Aoki Takao-sama, D-rights, and Takara...

On with the story!

**Chapter 2 – Memories**

The door opens slowly. Standing in front of us is a rather tall young lady with blonde hair and blue eyes. For a moment, I am reminded of Mother, but then realize that this lady's eyes are different. They radiated warmth and kindness, where Mother's were clouded with hate and malice.

Hideo is the first to speak. "Kai, I'd like you to meet Judy Mizuhara."

I am startled by her Japanese last name. "She doesn't _look_ Japanese," I say, raising an eyebrow. Minoru coughs nervously, and Hideo looks embarrassed by my statement.

"Sorry about that, Mrs. Mizuhara," he says, trying to smile at the girl. "I guess we should have told him that-"

Judy cuts him off with a short, pleasing laugh. "Oh, that's all right. Children are naturally inquisitive, so it's perfectly fine for him to be confused about my last name." She bends down to look at me, eye to eye. "Hello, Kai."

I must have looked surprised, because she quickly added, "I've already been told you were coming; that's why I know your name."

I say nothing, and Judy takes my hand, leading the three of us inside at the same time.

"Anyway, I came from America; that's why I don't look Japanese. However, I married a Japanese, hence my surname."

"Oh, okay." She leads me over to a plump-looking armchair, motioning for me to sit down.

"Sit tight," she says, letting go of my hand. "I'll be right back."

As soon as she is gone, I take a good look at the inside of the house. The living room was tastefully decorated – powder blue armchairs and a sofa, with a beige coffee table with a lace doily in the middle of it all. On the wall were several picture frames. One of them catches my eye, and I walk over to it to see it better.

As soon as I see it in detail, my heart gives a lurch. The picture showed Judy standing next to a man who must have been her husband – he _was_ Japanese – and, between them, a boy with blonde hair like his mother's, who didn't look much older than me. I was reminded of my younger days, when _my_ mother was nice. I remember the day we went on one of the rare family vacations. We were in 'the tropics', as Father called it. That year, Mother taught me to float on my back. I was scared, but she didn't leave me and made sure I could handle myself. Soon, I was floating without her help, and all that afternoon, I showed off, showing her how good I was.

I almost cry at the memory. That's all I have left of the 'good times' – memories.

"Well, here we are." My thoughts were interrupted by Judy's cheerful voice. This time, she had a young boy with her – the boy from the photo. He was clutching a teddy bear. With her other hand, Judy took my hand once more and led me back to the armchair.

As soon as we were all seated – Judy, the boy, and I – Judy turned to me, smiling again.

"Kai, I'd like you to meet my son, Max." She turned to the boy. "Max, this is Kai. He'll be staying with us for a few weeks." Max waved, grinning widely. I grinned and waved back, though a little less enthusiastically.

"He'll-?" Hideo stood up and walked over to Judy. He was clearly as confused as I was.

"I thought he was supposed to stay at the Center." Hideo said.

"Well, I felt it would be better for Kai if he spent time with someone closer to his age. Also, Max gets rather lonely at times, so I'll be killing two birds with one stone if I have Kai stay here."

"But-"

"Don't worry, Hideo-san. I've already brought it up with the chairman, and he gave me the go-ahead."

"I…see."

There was silence for several minutes as Judy's words sunk in. The first to react was Max.

"Yippee! A playmate!" he shrieked, jumping up from where he sat – beside his mother – and heading straight for me.

"Come on!" he said, grabbing my wrist. "I'll show you my playroom!" I didn't have a choice since he fairly pulled me along, almost making me stumble.

"Well, look at that." Minoru said, staring after the two of us. "Looks like young Max has taken a liking to him already."

Takao looked up from the page he'd been reading. He couldn't believe it. _Max had known Kai even before they met at the Regional Finals?_

Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming down the hall; he quickly snapped the folder closed and shoved it under the bed.

The doorknob rattled. "Takao, open up! It's me, Max!"

Takao jumped up and quickly unlocked the door. "Hey, Max!" he greeted his best friend.

"Well, you're looking better," Max commented, his eyes sweeping the room. He noted the cleared space on the bed. "What have you been doing this whole time? I don't think you were sleeping, because that space doesn't seem too big."

"I…" Takao trailed off, looking at his sneaker.

"You faker!" Max suddenly said, swatting his friend playfully on the arm. "You pretended you were sick so you could be excused from training, didn't you?"

Takao nodded, grinning brightly. "Yup!"

Max punched him again, laughing "Good one! You got me there!"

"Thanks, man." Takao said, walking over to his bed and sitting down once more. "So, how was the training session? A killer, as usual?"

Unexpectedly, Max shook his head. "Uh-uh."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, Kai didn't seem himself during the training," Max said, taking a seat on the floor.

"What do you mean?"

"It seemed that he had something weighing on his mind, like he was worried about something." Max looked up from playing with his shoestring. "You didn't answer my question."

"Huh?" Takao tried to look confused. "What question?"

Max rolled his eyes, but grinned. "What were you doing in here the whole time we were training?"

"Oh, that. Well…" Takao fixed his gaze on a tree branch that was just outside his window.

"C'mon, buddy! Spit it out!" Max urged, standing up and walking over to the opposite side of the bed. He sat down in a nearby chair, but not before brushing aside the soiled shirt that lay on it. "It can't be that bad – huh?"

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a corner of the cream-colored folder.

"What's that?"

Takao looked back at his friend. "What's what?"

Max pointed at the folder. "That…folder under your bed. What's it for?"

Takao's eyes widened momentarily, and his mind filled with panic. _Oh, no!_ He thought frantically. _He saw it!_ Outwardly, he grinned widely. "Oh, it's…nothing, Max, nothing at all!"

Max looked skeptical. "Oh? So why are you so intent on hiding it from me – or anyone else for that matter?"

Before Takao could stop him, Max stooped down and snatched it out from under the bed. He scanned the first page, much like Takao had done earlier.

Moments later, he looked up from the file. "You…_swiped_ this from _Kai's_ room?" he asked incredulously.

Takao sighed, knowing there was no hiding it. "Yeah, I did. It was inside the envelope that came for Kai this morning."

Max shook his head. "I can't believe you had the guts to 'borrow' this without permission. From _Kai_, of all people! I don't want to think of what will happen to you when he finds out." He bent his head again, reading the first part.

There was a silence for several minutes. Takao twiddled his thumbs, waiting for Max to finish the first page.

"Wow." Max said, his voice quiet and disbelieving. "Kai's…_mother_ actually _did_ that to him?"

Takao nodded, distracted. "By the way, Max," he said, wondering how to phrase his question. "I was wondering…" He glanced up at his friend, checking if he was listening. Max nodded to indicate he was. Takao sighed and went on. "Er…I was reading the second part when you knocked. In it, Kai was the one writing it, not the social worker, and the, um…the social worker was…your mom."

Max dropped the file.

"What did you say?" he said, bending down to pick up the folder. Clutching it in his fist, he straightened up. Inside, he was trying to convince himself that he'd heard wrong. He looked at Takao, grinning. "He, he…I thought you said that my mom was the social worker in charge of Kai's case. Good one, Takao, but you can't fool me a second time."

Takao said nothing. Max's smile faded.

"You weren't joking, huh?"

Takao nodded.

"B-but how?" Max was confused. "In here, it states that Kai is five years old in this account; that would put me at four years of age. How could Mom be his social worker when she's taking care of me at that time?"

Takao avoided answering, but asked a question of his own. "Where did you live when you were four?"

Max looked thoughtful. "I think it was somewhere in Wakayanagi." He grinned. "I guess what Mom said about my excellent memory is true."

Takao's face was serious. "Remember the account you read just now?" Max nodded. "Where did it say the social worker was living?"

"Somewhere in…" Max trailed off, his eyes wide as realization dawned. "Akihabara…"

Takao nodded, then suddenly, as though he'd just remembered something. "It said in the account that he stayed with you instead of at the foster care center place for a while." He leaned forward, his eyes glinting. "How did he act?"

"Kai? At _my_ house?"

"Yeah! It says so in the file." Takao jumped up off the bed. "Can you remember anything at all?"

"I don't think so…"

"C'mon, Max! You can remember where you lived when you were four years old! Did you have a constant playmate who lived with you, but wasn't related to you?"

Max shut his eyes tight as he tried to recall. Takao felt anticipation rise in him and struggled to control himself.

After a few more minutes, Max opened his eyes. He turned to Takao.

"_Now_ I remember," he said, smiling slightly.

"What? You remember what?" Takao persisted, fairly jumping on his pal.

"I'd tell you if only you'd _calm down_!" Max said, trying to push the sapphire-eyed teen. Takao obliged, going back to sitting on the bed, and Max took a deep breath.

"I remember that, long ago, Mom had me meet someone. She said that he'd been taken away from his mommy because she'd treated him badly. She said that…" Max trailed off.

"That _what_?"

"That he was staying with us for a while, just until his dad could come take him home. She introduced him to me as Kai."

"See? I told you!" Takao interrupted, jumping up. "You _did_ meet him before!"

"Takao!" Max shot him a look that clearly said 'Weren't you taught any manners?'

"Sorry." The brunette settled down again.

"Anyway. I remember that there were two policemen with him, but I found out that he wasn't in trouble. After being introduced to him, I think I showed him my playroom. But my bed was there, too, so it was also my bedroom." Max closed his eyes again, chuckling softly.

"What's so funny?"

"I just remembered that, well, the Kai we know right now is rather…stolid and serious…"

"Yeah, so?" Takao raised an eyebrow.

"Well, when I showed him my room, his eyes went _really_ huge, and he had a shocked look on his face." Max smiled. "It was as if he'd never seen that many toys before."

"So…?" Takao was still confused.

"He stood there for a minute before rushing to this huge pile of stuffed toys I had in the corner. He grabbed one scarlet-colored bird stuffed toy – it looked something like a miniature Dranzer, now that I think about it. Anyway, he grabbed it and – get this – squealed with laughter."

"No way!"

"Yeah! But I think it reminded him of an old toy or something, 'cause he said something like 'I don't believe it! It's _you_, Tori-chan!'."

"Kai _squealed_?" Takao was incredulous. Max nodded. "So what happened after that?" Takao asked, indicated that he wanted Max to continue.

"Well, I remember just standing there, clutching my teddy bear. After what must have been five minutes, it seemed that Kai remembered something that startled him. He walked over to me and thrust the toy back into my arms, mumbling 'sorry'."

"Now why'd he do that?"

Max closed his eyes. "I'll never know, and I never asked him. Anyway, what else do you want to know?"

"Was he like any other kid?"

Max's brow furrowed as he thought. "I think so…he didn't hesitate when I wanted to play 'Jungle Safari', or something like that. Oh, that first day, Mom asked Dad to bring the extra bed into my room, so that Kai and I could share a room, but the next day, we found he'd slept on the floor." Max shivered.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, the mattress on that bed was a little heavy for little kids – I remember; I tried to lift it, but couldn't – and, well, I guess Kai lifted the mattress onto the floor by himself. I asked him why he didn't sleep on the bed; he said that he wasn't used to it. Now I know what he meant."

Takao nodded in solemn agreement. "Anything else?"

"Well, he wouldn't set one foot in the kitchen. The problem is that we eat in there; there wasn't any space for a separate dining room. But one day, Mom was able to coax him into the kitchen, saying that she wanted the both of us to help her with dinner preparations. Kai agreed to help, but when Mom turned on the stove, he practically went white, then whimpered and then backed into a corner."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Max said, shaking his head.

"Well, what's say we read the file again so we can find out?"

"Okay, but could you lock the door? I'd feel safer if I knew that Kai couldn't enter so easily."

"Sure, no problem."

_Trust Takao to get a stomach illness precisely at the start of the afternoon training period,_ Kai thought, walking down the hall towards his room. _I'll make sure that he makes up for it at tomorrow's training._

He swung open his bedroom door and casually glanced around. Everything seemed just as he'd left it earlier that afternoon. Nonetheless, he approached his desk, a feeling of dread clutching his heart in a vice-like grip.

He picked up the brown manila envelope that had come for him that morning. His desk seemed in order. Or was it? His brow furrowed, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

He slipped his hand into the envelope and brought out the letter that had come with the file. He saw that it was the blank side that faced him. He knew that he'd replaced the letter so that when he brought it out, the side on which the letter had been printed would face him.

His eyes narrowed in anger. Someone had been in his room…

A/N: R&R, onegaishimasu! Peace out!


	4. Chapter 3 A Child's Fear

Chapter 3 – A Boy's Fear 

It is now the third week of my stay with Judy – she said I could call her that – and her family, Max and Shinji, who is Max's father.

Judy told me that any time soon, Father would come and take me away. That's why I was standing at the living room window everyday, watching the road for any sign of Father's car.

"Kai?" I turn around. It's Judy, and she's smiling.

"Yes?" I approach her, rather timidly, I'll admit. I look up into her face.

"Would you like to help me make dinner?" she asks, taking my hand in hers. "Max is helping, too."

Max peeks from behind the door to the kitchen. "We're making fried chicken, Kai! It's fun!" He smiles, waving a metal skillet.

"Um…okay." I say, smiling a little.

"Great! Thank you!" Judy says, guiding me into the kitchen. She hands me a child-size apron, dark blue in color. I glance at Max; he's wearing an apron, too, only one that's powder blue and has teddy bears all over it.

"What do I do first?" I ask, following Judy over to the counter, where she starts breaking eggs for the batter they coat the chicken in.

At first she doesn't answer, but I wait quietly, while behind me, Max scoots all around the kitchen, searching for who-knows-what. What seems like five minutes later, Judy sidesteps towards the stove, and I move take a few steps backward to let her pass. Suddenly, the stove roars to life, and Judy grabs my arm.

I whimper and pull away from her, rushing to a far corner of the kitchen. I don't know that she was trying to guide me _away_ from the stove, not _towards_ it. As she explained later, sometimes the stove 'got out of hand', and she almost got burned once.

Sitting in the corner, not paying any attention to Max's and Judy's puzzled looks, I recall that, when I was four-and-a-half years old, Mother got this sick, perverse idea that she 'show me what hell was like', saying that I'd made her life a living hell. That day, she'd dragged me into the kitchen and turned on the stove. Then, without warning, she'd grabbed my arm and held it above the flames. I'd pulled away and tried to blow cool air onto my arm. Mother hadn't stopped then. She'd tried to pick me up, saying that she wanted me to _lie down _on top of the stove. I'd been so scared that I'd stamped my feet in protest. Soon, however, Father had arrived, so she wasn't able to carry out her threat. I'll never forget the smell of singed hair and burned flesh. It's a good thing that Father was able to take me to the hospital later that evening so it could be treated.

After a few minutes, I calm down enough to help the mother-son team prepare dinner, than race to Max's room for the comfort of his stuffed bird – it looked so much like my old Tori-chan, the stuffed bird that Father gave me a when I was around two or three, saying that it was a small replica of the family heirloom or something like that.

As I sat there, cuddling the toy, Max entered and suggested that we play in the yard. I agree and return the toy to its pile. Then I follow Max outside.

Max's and Takao's eyes grew wide with disbelief.

"Whoa…" Takao said, though the expression was far from awe-filled.

"His mother actually tried to _kill_ him by _burning _him?" Max's face was a mask of different emotions – disgust, sorrow, disbelief… "No wonder he got scared of the stove fire."

Takao nodded, hearing his friend's voice, but not the words. He was lost in his thoughts.

_How much more has Kai suffered that we don't know about?_

Kai stormed out of his room and down the hall leading to the staircase. _Who went into my room?_ He thought, angrily. _When I find him, whoever it was, he is _so _dead!_

He was around halfway down the staircase when he remembered what had been in the envelope: the folder containing his record at the Sento-Daitouji Juvenile Hall. He sighed in annoyance with himself. In his swiftness to act out of anger, he'd forgotten to check if it was still where he'd left it.

He sighed again and went back up the staircase.

_The only problem is_, he thought, irritably, _where _did _I place it?_

Takao flipped to the next page. He turned to Max. "Are you sure you want to go on reading? I mean, what if we come across something that actually gives you _nightmares_?"

Max playfully punched his friend on the arm. "For your information, Takao, I _don't_ get nightmares anymore."

"Fine, but don't come into my room when you do."

"Ha ha. Very funny…" Max rolled his eyes, but smiled. Both boys bent down and began reading.

The first thing they saw was that the page they were about to read was Judy's written observations.

_I wonder what happens here?_

_Time – 4:30 PM_

Today marks one month that Kai has stayed with us. The center has not been in contact with me when his father will come by to pick him up, since he has been granted custody of the child. Since it is a 'special day', in my opinion, Shinji and I have decided to celebrate Kai's month of 'freedom' by taking them out to eat dinner. I have read about this branch of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) in Yoyogi, Tokyo, that has something called a 'Kid's Corner', which provides toys and other amusements for children to play with while waiting for their meals or for their companions to finish. Perhaps Max and Kai would like it there…

_Time – 7 o'clock PM_

We are here in KFC. I volunteered to mind the kids while Shinji gets our orders. We are seated near the Kid's Corner, which is rather full, and Max and Kai seem reluctant to play while others are there.

"Mommy," Max says, tugging at my skirt. "Is it really okay to play there?"

I smile down at him and give him a hug. "Of course it is, sweetie. That's why there are toys there – for kids like you and Kai to play with, so you won't get bored."

Max smiles back, and his face lights up. "Okay, if you say so, Mommy." Sometimes that's all it takes for Max to work up the courage to do something – a word of encouragement or approval.

"C'mon, Kai, let's go!" he calls to his quiet, slate-haired playmate.

Kai looks at, puzzled. He hops down off his chair. "Go where?"

"To the Kid's Corner, of course!" Max answers, grabbing the slim wrist. "Mommy says its okay."

I can see that Kai is still reluctant. He glances at me. "Judy, are you sure? 'Cause my mother said that you shouldn't play with others' toys without askin' 'em 'cause that's bein' rude. And I don't wanna be a bad boy."

I squat down and stroke his cheek. "Oh, Kai, of course it's okay. I already told Max that the toys belong to the store, and that that's the reason why the toys are put out – they're for you guys to play with, okay?"

"But what if my mother sees me? She'll think I probably stole the toys from someone, and then she's going to punish me." Suddenly, his eyes grow wide. "She said she'd kill me if she caught me doin' something bad."

I give him a hug to reassure him, motioning to Max that he can go ahead. He understands and goes off to play. "Kai, you're mother isn't anywhere near here. Besides, even if she caught you doing something wrong, she can't punish you, because technically, you're no longer _her_ responsibility."

"Um, okay…if you say so…" he trails off, turns around, and goes to join Max at the Kid's Corner. He steps onto the padded mat, and then, suddenly, there is a worker at his side. He taps Kai's shoulder. Kai turns around and goes white, just like in the kitchen incident. The worker manages only an 'excuse me', when Kai runs back to me. I hold him and note that he is shaking like a leaf. The worker approaches me, looking sheepish.

"Err, I'm sorry if I scared your child, Ma'am," he says, reaching out to pat Kai on the head.

"No, it's okay." I say, smiling at him. "He's…a little scared of strangers." I give Kai another hug to reassure him.

"Well, I just wanted to remind him to take off his shoes before stepping onto the mat." He ruffles Kai's hair. I laugh as Kai wriggles out of my grasp and attempts to fix his hair, making it look slightly messier than it was before. The worker smiles at him before walking away, whistling a jaunty tune.

"Did I do something wrong?" Kai asks, a worried look on his face.

"No, the worker just wanted to you to take off your shoes before playing."

"Oh, okay."

Kai makes his way back to the Kid's Corner, and then squats down to remove his black sneakers. For reasons unknown, he won't wear any other pair, even though the center provided _two_ pairs of shoes. And then, to my surprise, while the other children have left their shoes scattered about, Kai sets his next to the wall. I've never seen a five-year-old child take such care to arrange his things

Kai stands perfectly still at one end of the padded mat, studying the 'chaos' generated in the play area. And then, tentatively, he walks over to a stray red ball and picks it up. He looks around to see if anyone is watching, then plops down onto the mat and begins a game of 'bounce-and-catch', wherein he throws the ball against the ball, making sure that it bounces once on the ground when it returns before he catches it.

A few minutes later, Shinji returns with the food, and I turn to call Max and Kai to eat. The two eagerly run over, their shoes in their hands. Max is the first to speak.

"Mommy, guess what? We had a contest to see who could bounce a ball and catch it the most times, and _Kai won_! He bounced it a _gazillion_ times!"

"Actually, it was only _twenty_ times…" Kai mumbles, looking embarrassed.

"Well, congratulations," Shinji says, motioning for the two to sit down. "C'mon, you two must be hungry after playing so hard."

Max's eyes widen at the sight of the bucket of chicken we'd ordered, while Kai remains emotionless. Also, Max asked if he could have two pieces of chicken. Of course, since there are eight pieces to a bucket, we agreed. When I offer a second piece to Kai, he declines, saying that once piece is enough for him.

I wonder what _has_ this kid gone through to become so withdrawn and guarded. He has yet to tell me the full details of his previous situation, and I cannot jump to conclusions.

"I don't even remember _that_ one!" Max exclaims as he looks up from the file.

"How can someone turn down a _second_ piece of chicken?" Takao asks, eyes wide in disbelief. "_I_ certainly won't!"

"Takao, can't you think of something aside from _food_?" Max asks.

The blue-eyed teen smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, guess I'm already hungry. What time is it anyway?"

Max looks at the wall clock nearby. "It's six-thirty."

"Good. Thirty minutes 'till dinner. I can wait. Besides, that'll give us time to read a little bit more of this file." He closed his eyes, trying to envision what Kai must have looked at that point in his life. What he saw was a younger version of Kai, with wider eyes and a more innocent look. "That is so adorable."

"Excuse me?"

Takao's eyes snapped open, and he saw Max looking at him strangely. "Oh, sorry Max. It's just that I tried imagining how Kai must have looked back then, and what I saw was, well, totally cute."

"It's too bad I'm no good at drawing, 'cause I _knew_ him back then, remember?"

"Yeah, too bad. If you _were_ good at drawing, I could have used the picture you drew of him – in his younger days – as blackmail."

"Takao!"

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Max and Takao closed the file, and, while Max slid it under the bed, Takao went to answer the door. It was Rei, their raven-haired, neko-jin teammate.

"Takao? How are you feeling?"

"Um, better. So, what's up?"

"Have you seen Max?"

"Um…he's…here, Rei. Why'd you ask?"

"Well, Kai is looking for him. He said he wanted to ask him something."

Takao's eyes widened. _Uh, oh…_ He turned around to look at Max. The blonde must have heard what Rei said, because he raised his eyebrows. "Well, see you later, Max," Takao said, smiling encouragingly as Max walked past him and to the door. He gave Takao a thumb's-up before swinging the door closed with a click.

_Could he have found out?_ Takao glanced towards the bed, under which the file was hidden.

"Kai?" Max peeked into the living room, where he was told Kai was waiting for him. He spotted his slate-haired captain seated in one of the blue armchairs and made his way over. "You wanted to…ask me something?"

Kai opened his crimson eyes, glaring up at the blonde teen. "Yes. Earlier I discovered that someone had been through my belongings. I remember seeing you go upstairs directly after this afternoon's training session. Did you, by any chance, go into my room?"

Max was rather taken aback by the sudden accusation, but he held his ground. "No, I didn't. Why? What was taken?"

Kai sighed and stood up without answering and brushed past him, walking towards the staircase. For a moment, Max stared after the retreating figure. _Where is he going?_ he wondered. And then, realization dawned. _Takao! _

He turned and hurried after the solemn teen.

It has been two days since the restaurant incident. It is only now that Judy receives a notice from the center, stating that I have to be brought to a 'real' foster home. The letter also said that they have been trying to reach Father, to no avail.

I've already packed my stuff into a small duffel bag, because Judy says that my foster parents will come by to pick me up in around half an hour. Meanwhile, Max and I play a game of 'stuffed animal hide-and-seek'.

Time flies by while we are playing, because it seems that we had no sooner started the game that a car pulls up outside, and I hear my name being called. I pick up my bag and race to the front door, Max close at my heels.

"Mommy, what's happening?" he asks Judy, who is already standing at the door. She bends down to pick him up, perhaps to comfort him. I pay them no attention and stand by the porch steps, waiting for either of my foster parents to come out.

"Well, Kai's foster parents have come to pick him up."

"What about his daddy?"

"We've tried calling him, sweetie, but we can't reach him."

"Oh. Does he really have to leave? I won't have anyone to play with."

"I'm sorry, Max, but he really does have to go. I was only assigned to be his social worker, not a foster parent. But cheer up; I'll try to get the address of his foster parents so that you can visit, and then the two of you can play together. Is that okay?"

Max nods. "Okay, I'd like that. Thanks, Mommy."

By this time, my foster father is at the bottom of the steps, just a foot and a half away from me. He's tall and has dark brown hair. He's wearing sunglasses, so I can't see the color of his eyes. He glances at me and then smiles before looking at Judy.

"So, this is Kai." He says, sounding pleased or happy, I don't know which. Judy nods.

"Yes. Thank you so much for coming as soon as possible. We were unable to contact his father, and so, though we are certain that he is still living and able to care for Kai, we decided to go ahead with the foster care program."

"No, thank _you_ for calling us. We have a kid of our own, and we'd like for him to interact with other kids as early as possible. He's two years younger than Kai, so I think it will enable Kai to know how to deal with kids younger than him. How old _is_ Kai, anyway?"

"He's five years old, turning six this December, Shizuki-san."

The man's eyes widen. "Oh, in that case, he's nearly _three _years younger!"

"I see." Judy smiles at me, and I smile back. "Well, Kai, this is it. I hope to see you really soon."

Before my foster father can pick me up, I run back to Judy and give her a hug – the first one in a month. She is startled, but she returns the hug. Then I turn to Max.

"See you soon." I say. He smiles before holding out his hand.

"Friends?"

I look into his bright blue eyes and smile back. I clasp his hand in a handshake. "Friends."

After a few seconds, I turn back to my foster father. Without my knowing, my foster mother has joined him at the porch steps. I notice that she has pretty, dark green eyes and shoulder-length auburn hair.

"Come on, Kai. It's time to go." She says, smiling at me. I take tiny steps towards the couple, and, when I reach them, she enfolds me in an embrace.

Moments later, I am in their car, looking out through the rear window, waving good-bye to Max and Judy until I can no longer see them. Then I sit down, lean back, and close my eyes. I savor the feel of the engine under me, the wind as it flows in through the open window. I can sense that it's the beginning of a new life for me.

Takao was startled out of reading by a sharp knock on the door. He quickly slid the folder out of sight under the bed before going to open the door.

"K-Kai!" he exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Kai pushed past him and into the room. For a minute, all was silent as Kai observed the room. Behind him, Takao stood as still as a statue.

"Where is it?" Kai asked, breaking the silence. Takao jumped.

"Where is what?"

"The folder, numbskull!" Kai snapped, whirling around to face his teammate. "The folder that came in the envelope I received today."

"I…I haven't seen it, Kai." Takao answered, hoping his eyes didn't betray him.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Kai approached him slowly, glaring daggers at the brunette.

Takao nodded quickly, anxious to have Kai out of his room. "Of course I haven't seen it. I haven't been in your room all day!"

Kai raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? That being the case, you wouldn't mind if I searched your room, would you?"

"Huh? Why? I said I didn't take the folder, so why do you want to search _my_ room?

"Because I hadn't said anything about the folder missing from my _room_, so you gave yourself away, Kinomiya, by saying that you haven't been in my room all day."

For a nanosecond, Takao's eyes went wide, then reverted back to normal size. He forced himself to sound like his normally cocky self. "So? It was just a lucky guess. See for yourself, Kai. Look around. I've got nothing to hide."

Kai snorted, then began walking towards the bed.


	5. Chapter 4: A New Life

A/N: I'm back, minna-san! It's anew chapter! To all those who read and reviewed - you know who you are! - domo arigatou gozaimasu! Thank you for putting up with this li'l fic of mine, even if it's not _that_ great...I know you've been waiting a long time for an update, so...here it is!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bakuten Shoot Beyblade. It belongs to Aoki-sama, d-Rights, and Takara Beyblade Project. However, I _do_ own Mr. and Mrs. Shizuki, and Reina...

Chapter 4 – A New Life

Takao stood stock-still as Kai drew closer to his bed. _Please don't look under the bed…please don't look under the bed…_he pleaded silently. He hoped that he wasn't sweating profusely from the nervousness, because that would give him away.

The brunette heaved a quiet sigh of relief when Kai veered away from the bed and towards the desk next to it. Quietly and efficiently, he yanked out drawers filled to the brim with useless papers, old junk food wrappers, and, occasionally, a sock or two. Kai said nothing as he sifted through Takao's things.

Ten minutes passed before Kai, having gone through all the desk drawers, moved onto the dark mahogany closet, which was in a sorrier state of disarray. Only three shirts were hung up on their hangers, and they were rather wrinkled. The rest of the clothes weren't scattered in various places around the room were gathered in one, messy heap on the floor of the closet. Kai lifted each piece of clothing and put it aside, knowing that if he tossed them about, it was likely that he'd miss the folder.

It took him around eight minutes to go through all the clothes in the closet, and there was still no sign of his file. He sat back on his heels, staring Takao in the eye.

"What?" Takao said, exasperatedly.

"Where have you hidden it, Kinomiya?" The voice was steady and emotionless, but there was no mistaking the hidden anger and impatience.

"I told you, I haven't taken it, Kai!" Takao shot back, hoping to disguise his nervousness with what he hoped looked like anger.

Kai said nothing in reply to the outburst, but walked over to the bed and sat on the floor by the side furthest from Takao's desk. He started to lift up the sheet. Takao shut his eyes tight.

_Please don't see it…please don't see it…please don't…_he pleaded silently, wishing that Kai wouldn't keep him in suspense.

"Damn! It's not here!" Kai exclaimed, causing Takao's eyes to snap open.

_He didn't see it?_ The stormy-eyed blader was confused. _But why – Oh yeah! _He smiled triumphantly as he remembered the box of comic books he'd stashed under his bed. _The box probably hid the folder from view._

Suddenly, Kai got up and went to sit down at the opposite side of the bed, where he was sure to discover the missing file.

_Oh, no!_

Kai lifted up the sheet.

There was a knock on the door.

Takao sighed in relief. Kai snarled in annoyance, dropped the end of the sheet he'd been holding, and stood up to make his way to the door.

He opened the door and stuck his head out. There was Rei. "What?" Kai snapped.

Poor Rei looked startled at the seeming anger of his captain, but recovered quickly. "Well, it's nearly seven o'clock, and dinner's ready."

"Fine."

"Why are you in Takao's room?"

"None of your business, Kon."

"Okay, okay…" Rei turned and began to walk away. "No need to get so grouchy…" he muttered under his breath. _Sometimes I wonder why he has to act like that…_

Kai closed the door with an angry sigh and turned to his teammate, glaring daggers at him. "Saved by the dinner bell, Kinomiya." He said, not out of defeat, but as a fact. "But I'll know soon, whether or not you were telling the truth." Once more, he opened the door and walked out.

The door swung shut, and Takao leaned against the wall in relief. "Talk about a close one!" he said aloud to nobody in particular. After mopping the sweat from his brow, he exited the room, switching off the light as he did so.

"So, what else did you find out?" Max whispered. Takao nearly jumped out of his chair.

"Max!" he hissed back. "Don't do that! It could give us away!"

Max sat back, apologetic. "Sorry. I knew that when I left you to go see what Kai wanted, you couldn't have helped it and read a little bit more of the file. So what did you find out?"

"Tell you later, Max. Oh, how about you tell Rei and Kyouju to meet us in my room. We can share with them what we've found out so far, and I can tell you the rest."

"Sounds good to me." Max smiled at his friend, then resumed eating the delicious dinner of steak and mashed potatoes.

"What did you mean by 'found out so far'?" Kyouju, who was seated on Takao's opposite side, asked.

"Tell you later, Chief," Takao said, grinning. "You'll just have to wait until after dinner."

Kyouju, a rather diminutive teen with long, floppy brown hair and glasses, pouted for a while, and then returned to _his_ dinner.

Rei, who was seated opposite them, had no idea what they were talking about. He was pretty sure, though, that whatever it was, it had something to do with Takao and Max's nervousness earlier. He shrugged and resumed eating.

Kai glanced at his teammates in turn. _They're unusually quiet tonight…_he thought. He'd gotten used to the riotous chatter at every meal, dinner especially. _Something's going on…_ he thought, his eyes narrowing, _and I'm going to find out what…_

"Okay, Takao, so what's this important meeting about, and why hasn't Kai been informed?" Kyouju asked. He was seated on Takao's bed and he opened up his laptop and booted it up, a sign that he was ready to take down notes.

"Well, Kai wasn't informed because the meeting concerns _him_."

"Why? What happened?" Rei asked, leaning forward as much as his position would let him without falling over. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor beside Takao's closet.

"Oh, nothing…" Takao said, glancing at Max and winking. "It's just that I…well, found _this_ in Kai's room." With a flourish, he brought out from behind him the pale cream folder. Kyouju and Rei just stared.

"Uh…okay…" the neko-jin stated, unsure of how he was supposed to react.

"Good one, Takao, but I prefer serious meetings that actually have a _purpose_." Kyouju said.

"You don't understand, Chief." Max jumped in, ready to explain for his buddy. "This folder contains photocopies of files currently owned by – what was that again? – Sento-Daitouji Juvenile Hall."

"That's located in Akihabara, correct?"

"Yes, and from what Takao and I have read in the file, Kai was part of their foster care program."

"'Foster care'?" Kyouju and Rei both leaned forwards, mouths agape. They weren't sure they'd heard correctly.

Takao nodded, then he and Max started telling them what they had read, except for the part about Kai staying with Max's family for nearly a month. They didn't go into details, but by their shocked looks, both boys knew that their friends got the message.

"My gosh…" Rei leaned back against the closet door in disbelief. "And all this is one-hundred-percent true?"

Max nodded, unsmiling, and Takao said, "Unfortunately, yes."

"So what else did you want to tell us?" Kyouju asked. Takao looked at Max for approval; he wanted to know if the blonde wanted _that_ part of the story told. Max nodded.

"This may surprise you guys but…" Takao took a deep breath. "Kai stayed with Max's family for a while."

Rei raised his eyebrows. "_Max_? But I thought his mother was a scientist!"

Max nodded. "I remembered it only today when Takao brought the subject up. Mom had graduated with several degrees in science, but she also had a degree in child psychology. That's why when she first came here to Japan, she joined a program as a social worker. That's the first time we met Kai."

Takao spoke up. "Also, I read that the social center people weren't able to reach Kai's dad, who was supposed to pick him up. So, they placed Kai in foster home. The people who agreed to take him in weren't exactly childless; they had one kid who was around two and a half years old when they took him in."

"What was their name?" Rei asked.

Takao cocked his head to one side and thought. "It was…Shizuki, I think…"

Kyouju tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Shizuki…hmm…that name rings a bell, but right now, I can't say why. Anyway, hopefully, this file will answer all our questions regarding Kai." He said, typing something on the keypad of his laptop. "May I see it?"

"Hold on, Chief." Takao held up a hand, walking over to the bed. "I thought it would be better for one of us to read the file aloud, while the others form a circle around the reader."

"So who should be the reader?"

"Well, since you want to read it, you can do it, Chief." Max spoke up. "You can sit right here," he continued, indicating the spot where Kai had sat down earlier."

"Good thinking, Max!" Takao exclaimed, his eyes shining. "That way, with us forming a semicircle and the Kyouju's back to the bed, when – and if – Kai decides to check up on us, we can block Kai's view, while Kyouju slips the file under the bed – discreetly, of course."

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Rei said, nodding his head. "Can we start now?"

"Sure we can." Kyouju smiled. "Let me at that file!"

_Strange…_Kai thought, straining to hear what little sound he could. He was downstairs in the training room. _It's too quiet, even for an isolated villa in the Japanese Alps…_ Dranzer spun quietly in the dish, as though obeying its master's unspoken order to keep quiet.

Kai's eyes narrowed, and he held up a hand, signaling that he wanted his blade to return. Dranzer did so, leaving a slight smoke trail in the dish as is sped up to its master's palm. Kai deftly caught it and replaced it in his pocket, turning away from the dish as he did so. He walked towards the door.

_I believe it's time to check on Kinomiya and the others…_

"Kai?"

I mumble something incoherent and struggle to open my eyes. Someone is trying to wake me up.

"Kai, sweetie, we're here."

My eyes are now fully open, and I can see the woman with auburn hair – my foster mother, Mrs. Shizuki – smiling at me, her hand on my shoulder.

"Huh?"

"We're home."

At first I'm confused. _What is she talking about?_ And then, all of a sudden, it hits me. I have left the Mizuharas, and I am now with my 'real' foster parents. Without a word, I open the car door by myself and hop out to have a good look at the house I will soon call 'home'.

The first thing that comes into my head is that the Shizukis are a mix of the old and new. They have a car, and I'm sure they have television and other modern stuff, because of the wires I see traveling into the house, but their house is an old Japanese one, with sliding paper doors and everything, just like the dojo I saw one time.

"So, what do you think?"

I nearly jump in surprise. I hadn't noticed Mr. Shizuki approach me; he did it so quietly.

"What do I think of what, Shizuki-sama?"

"Of the house, Kai." Mr. Shizuki smiles down at me.

"It looks comfortable, Shizuki-sama." I say, smiling back, in case he gets offended if I don't.

"Thank you for saying that, but, Kai, I would appreciate it if you called me 'Ichiro', or 'Dad'."

"Why?"

He laughs, and I pout. I hate it when grownups laugh after I ask a completely sensible or innocent question. It makes me feel dumb.

"Well, I _am_ your foster father, Kai. And as for my wife, you may call her 'Mom' or 'Keiko'" he turns to my foster mother. "I hope you'll forgive me for taking the liberty."

She bows. "No, it's all right. That's just what I wanted to tell him. Thank you, Ichiro." She walks over to me and takes my hand, just like Judy used to do. "Come, let's go inside now. It's getting late, and the night only grows colder."

"Okay." I smile up at her, and she laughs, though I don't know why.

Their garden is a typical Japanese rock garden, with a little pond in the far corner. There are bonsai trees growing here and there. We use a little cobblestone path – a rather modern part in a Japanese garden – to get to the house. Part of the path passes under a cherry tree, bare against the darkening sky. Seeing the cherry tree reminds me that it is October. Wintertime is nearing. I love winter.

Soon we are inside the house. It looks just like I imagined – typical Japanese layout, with a television in the main room. I walk around slowly, peeking into each room I pass, while Ichiro and Keiko look on. Soon I come across I rather small room. Inside, I find what seems to be a playpen – another modern touch – and in it, a small child. From what I can see of him – he was sleeping – he had dark brown hair, like his dad, and a round face, which led me to believe that he had to be nearly three years old.

"I see you've already seen Yuuya." Keiko says from the doorway. I whirl around to face her and Ichiro.

"Who?"

"We have a boy of our own, Kai," Ichiro said, smiling again as he holds Keiko's hand. "He's nearly three years younger than you – he's two years and eight months old."

"When's his birthday?"

"It's in early February, Kai." Keiko answers. At that moment, Yuuya wakes up.

"Mama!" he wails. Though I haven't had any experience in taking care of little kids, for some reason, I take hold of his hand, trying to soothe him.

"It's okay, Yuuya, you're mommy's coming." I whisper, trying to calm him down. In seconds, Keiko is at my side, and I see that she's taken Yuuya, patting his back and whispering words into his tiny ear. After a few minutes, he calms down, and is resting against her shoulder. Keiko smiles at me.

"Thank you for helping out, Kai." She says, kneeling down to look me in the eye. "I can see that you're going to be a great foster brother to Yuuya."

"It's no big deal, Keiko." I blush, looking away. It's been such a long time since I've been given affirmation of any kind – not counting my stay with the Mizuharas – that I'm not used to the sudden attention. Then a thought occurs to me. "Keiko…" I begin, but I falter on the next word

"Yes?"

"Well…" I shuffle my feet, unsure of how to state my question without offending her or Ichiro.

"Go on, Kai, we're listening." Ichiro encourages me. I take a deep breath and start over.

"If you have a kid of your own, why did _both _of you go to pick me up at Judy's house? I didn't see anyone when we came in; didn't you get a babysitter to watch Yuuya?" I stop to catch my breath, and then continue. "Why didn't only one of you go get me, while the other one stayed with your son?"

Keiko smiled again. "We _did _get a babysitter, Kai. While Yuuya was sleeping, she must have gone to use the bathroom or something."

At that moment, as if on cue, a voice sounds from outside the door.

"Mr. and Mrs. Shizuki! You're home!" A young girl steps into the room. She has dark hair, shoulder length hair that curved away from her face, dark gray eyes, and rather pale skin. Judging from her height, I think that she is around thirteen or fourteen years old. She bows apologetically.

"I'm sorry I left Yuuya alone, but he was sleeping, and I needed to use the bathroom…"

Ichiro places a calming hand on her shoulder. "That's quite alright, Reina. Since it was a personal 'emergency', I won't hold it against if you left him for a few minutes. Besides, we were already on our way home."

The girl, Reina, bows again. "Thank you, Mr. Shizuki. I'll be going home now." She turns to leave.

Keiko calls after her. "Take care in going home, Reina. It's rather late, and the streets grow dangerous after dark."

"I will. Thank you for the concern, Mrs. Shizuki." I hear the soft swish of the closing paper door, and then silence. Keiko turns back to me and kneels down once more, laying Yuuya on the rice straw mats that pad each room.

"Well, I'll go start dinner, Kai." She says as she straightens up.

"And I have to look over several documents," Ichiro adds, stepping out of the room. "Keiko and I will leave you and Yuuya to get acquainted."

Before I can move or say anything, the door slides shut, leaving Yuuya and me quite by ourselves. There is silence for several moments, and then brown-haired little Yuuya speaks.

"What's your name?" he asks, toddling over to me.

"I'm Kai. Kai Hiwatari." I reply, squatting cross-legged on the floor so he and I are more or less at the same height.

Yuuya cocks his head to one side. Adorable. "Are you here to play with me?"

I nod, at the same time saying. "Yeah, sort of."

He smiles, making me smile too. He is so cute. He pads closer to me, but then stumbles. Instinctively, I reach out and catch him before he hurts himself. His wide green eyes stare up at me, and he grins sheepishly.

"Oopsie."

He's making my heart melt, for crying out loud! I can't help it; it's contagious. I grin back and pat his head. "It's okay, Yuuya. Everyone stumbles every now and then."

He squirms to get up. "Really? Even big kids like you?"

"Yes, even me."

"How old are you, Kai?"

"I'm five turning six this December."

"I'm two years old right now, but I'll be three next February."

"I know. Ichiro and Keiko told me."

"Who?"

"Your mom and dad."

"Wow!" Yuuya's eyes grew wide, if that was even possible. "You must be _really_ big to call my mommy and daddy by their first names."

"No, not really." I shake my head. "It's just that they're taking care of me now because…I don't live with my parents anymore." At the last part, I recall everything that I'd gone through before I was rescued, and I shut my eyes tight to prevent any tears from escaping. I take a deep breath before continuing. "Anyway, they're taking care of me, but I don't feel comfortable calling them 'Mom' and 'Dad', so they said I could call them by their first names."

"Oh. Why aren't you with your parents anymore?"

At that moment, I feel like screaming at him to leave me alone, but I can't; he's too young to know that he's asked such a painful question.

"Well, it's like this. My mother was treating me pretty awful, always punishing me for the tiniest mistake, like forgetting to wipe a tiny spill on the kitchen floor. She even 'forgot' to feed me lunch or dinner. Sometimes, she wouldn't feed me at all. Then my dad divorced her, and told the police what was happening at the house, so they came to get me."

"What's 'divorced'?"

"It means that they're no longer married."

"Oh. So the police gave you to my mommy and daddy?"

"No, not right away. First I stayed with Judy, my social worker, and her family. I was supposed to stay with them only until my father came to get me, but he never did. So they called your parents, and _then_ they came to get me. So now I'm here." I hold out my arms for emphasis on the word 'here', but I guess Yuuya misinterpreted it, because the next thing I know, he's nuzzling his head against my shoulder with his pudgy arms around my chest. I smile and place my arms around him. "What's wrong, Yuuya?"

"Nothing, Kai-_niichan_. It's just that I was getting pretty bored playing by myself when my babysitter wasn't here. Now I have a sort-of-brother!"

I close my eyes. The minute Yuuya says that, it occurs to me that this is, indeed, the start of my new life.

A/N: So, what'cha think? By the way, Yuuya's American (dubbed) name is 'Wyatt' (I just made up the last name...) Anyway, R&R, onegaishimasu! Till next chapter! Peace out!


	6. Chapter 5 The Accident

A/N: Konnichiwa, minna! I'm back with a new chappie for all of you to consume! Hope that makes everyone happy! (Okay, why am I in hyper mode? That's my sister's job...) ; Anyway, not too many reviewed; in a way, that's a good thing. It makes it easier for me to say 'thank you'!

**Wolfchilde - **Thank you so much for the comment on the story and on my 'talent'. I really appreciate it.

**LiahWoodsKainTalalover _- _**Gah, what a loooong penname...Anyway, thanks for the comment. I tried to make Yuuya (Wyatt) sound as cute as I possible without going overboard, and as well as I could interpret from the images that were running through my head as I wrote that chapter.

**Ghostymangarocker **- You don't have to call me 'sensei', ya know...but if you want to, why not! Lol XD Anyway, glad you enjoyed the plot twist. Kind of surprising, huh?

**KawaiiYuki** - Yes, he's living with Yuuya now. I don't know where that came from though...I think it was a dream I had...I update as soon as I can, meaning as soon as I have Internet access...If I made you wait, SORRY!

**Kuro1107** - Thanks!

**FireieGurl - **Yeah, I know it happened pretty early...I was trying to come up with an explanation for why Kai felt so responsible for Yuuya in Beyblade 2002. I update as soon as possible. Correction: This was never a TyKa pairing in the first place. I chose the wrong character thingy...sorry for the confusion!

**Phoenixfromtheflames-2 **- What can I say but...Thanks!

**storm-of-insanity **- Thanks for the nice comment. I try to be as original as possible without confusing readers. However, this fic is about to get a little bit confusing - at least, in later chapters...

Phew! This chapter's 'thanking session' is done. On with the fic!

Disclaimer: If only...

Chapter 5 – The Accident

Kai carefully swung open the door to Kyouju's room, just in case it squeaked. Poking his head inside, he scanned the room. No sign of the bespectacled teen. _Where _are_ they?_ He thought irritably. The same thing had happened when he checked Max's and Rei's rooms. He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, racking his brains.

_I _know_ I heard them go into their rooms earlier tonight…_

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open as it occurred to him.

_Takao…_

"Yuuya…" Takao rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "That name sounds familiar, doesn't it?"

"Yeah." Max said, staring blankly at the page Kyouju had just read. "Where did I hear it before?"

"I don't know, Max." Kyouju said, still holding the file. He started to turn to the next page. "Anyway, let's finish this file before Kai decides there's something fishy going on." He glanced at the page he'd just turned to, and his jaw dropped.

"Guys! Look at this!" He exclaimed excitedly, laying the file on the floor so everyone could see it.

Everyone's eyes widened. In front of them were a couple of photos that had probably been pasted onto the original file. They showed a younger Kai with an even younger brown-haired child, whom they all knew very well.

"That…that's the first guy who fought Kai using Cyber Dranzer!" Takao said, aghast.

"Yeah!" Rei added. "No wonder the name sounded so familiar. Kai 'introduced' him to us that day, remember?"

Max nodded. "And that _would _explain why Kai felt so responsible for him back then, when using Cyber Dranzer drove Yuuya half-insane." Max smiled slightly as he recalled the image of Kai cradling a much older, maniacally laughing Yuuya. "He treated him so much like a brother; it was, well, heartening to see him so gentle."

"Yeah. Wonder when he'll act like that towards _us_…" Takao muttered."

"Takao!" Max, Kyouju, and Rei exclaimed in unison. Takao grinned sheepishly.

"Okay, okay! It was just a thought…"

"C'mon, lets get this over with." Kyouju urged, picking up the file. He scanned the contents for a few minutes.

"Chief, what's it say?" Takao asked, impatient.

"Well, it says here that there's a gap of around six months from the previous part, which we've just read. So that would mean that Kai's now six years old."

"Okay, so can we just get started?"

I am nervous. It's my first day at Daitou Gakuen Elementary. I look down at my uniform – white shirt, red necktie, and black short pants – and clutch my school bag tightly. I don't know anyone here, and I don't even know which class I belong to.

I look over my shoulder, searching for Ichiro's car. He's gone now. I sigh and glance up at the building. I am barely aware that the schoolyard is filling with students. I take a deep breath, square my shoulders, and stride purposefully into the building.

Inside, I glance quickly at the school map, looking for directions to the principal's office, just like Ichiro told me to. It turns out that the office is one corridor to the left down from the main entrance, so I run as fast as I can down the halls to it. I don't want to be late on my first day.

Before I know it, I'm standing in front of the desk of a young lady, who must have been the secretary. She looks at me over her glasses. "How may I help you?"

"I'm Kai Hiwatari, ma'am, and I'd like to know to which class I belong."

She smiles, probably impressed that I know how to take care of myself. "Well, Hiwatari is it? This is your first day at Daitou Gakuen?"

I nod. "Yes, ma'am."

"I see. Well, young Kai, you belong to class…"she pauses to glance at her files, then back at me. "Class 1-A. That's the second door to your left once you leave the office."

I smile. "Okay. Thank you, ma'am." I bow before letting myself out of the office. Once outside, I start walking slowly, counting the doors. Soon I spot the door to my classroom, and I swing it open.

I look around. There are only a few kids there, and most of them are sleeping. Quietly, I make my way to a seat near the window, and then set my bag on the floor beside my chair. I then lean back against the back of my seat and close my eyes, feeling the warm sunrays on my face.

"Hey, are you new?"

I am startled by the voice. I realize that I must have dropped off to sleep in my chair. I open my eyes to see a boy about my age, with dark blue hair and dark green eyes. He repeats his question.

"Excuse me, are you a new student?" As he says this, he plops down into the seat beside me.

I blink a few times, and then turn to face him. "Yeah. It's my first day here. Of course, it's everyone else's first day, too, but this is the first time I've set foot in this school."

"Oh, well, that's good. At least I'll have company," the boy says.

"Huh?"

"Well, it's my first time in this school, too." He says, smiling faintly. "See, my family relocated here from Australia."

"You're Australian?" I am shocked. "But…you're Japanese is perfect!"

The boy laughs, but not in a harsh way; it's more of apologetic laughter. "Oh, I'm not _entirely_ Japanese. I'm half-Australian. My dad is Japanese, my mom is Australian."

"Oh."

There is silence for several minutes. Suddenly, the bell chimes, and, in the blink of an eye, the classroom is full of boys and girls, all scrambling over the seats by the window.

I stare at them, puzzled. _Is this how it is every time school starts?_ I glance at my seatmate, who glances back and shrugs his shoulders, as if to say: _How should _I_ know?_

"Good morning, class." An authoritative voice sounds from the front of the room, and the whole class jumps to its feet.

"Good morning, Ms. Tanaka," we say, before, with a curt nod, the teacher bids us sit down. _Jeez!_ I think. _I didn't think I'd be learning stuff under a _general! I glance at my seatmate again, and I can see that he's thinking the same thing.

"Very good." She says, glancing down at her clipboard. "Now, when I call your name, you are to stand and say something about yourself. Don't worry; I'm not strict with what you are to say; just say whatever comes to mind.

At this point, my seatmate leans over and whispers, "By the way, my name's Kane Tsubasa. What's yours?"

"It's Kai. Kai Hiwatari." At the mention of my last name, Kane's eyes grow wide.

"Your last name's _Hiwatari_?" he asks, incredulous.

I nod. "Why, is something wrong?"

He shakes his head. "No, nothing really. It's just that when we were in Australia, my dad worked for this company called 'Hiwatari Enterprises'.

It's my turn to look surprised. "Y'mean that there's a company that's being run by the Hiwataris?"

"You mean to tell my that you didn't know?" Kane frowns. "How come?"

"Well, it's a long story, and I don't feel like tellin' you right now."

"Why not?"

"I…just don't!" I smile at him, willing him to understand. "But I promise, when I work up the guts, and when I feel the time is right, I'll tell you _everything_." I hold out my hand. Kane smiles back at me as he takes my hand in a firm grip.

"Okay, I'll pretend to forget about it _for now_, but remember, I'll hold you to your promise."

"Deal."

"So he met Kane, too?" Rei sat back on his heels in disbelief. "That's kind of hard to believe."

Kyouju nodded in agreement, but said nothing.

"Man! I feel like this file holds page after page of surprises!" Takao took off the blue and red baseball cap he always wore and laid it on the floor. "Check it out: first we find out that he'd actually lived with Max's family for a while, and then the first foster parents he had were Yuuya's parents, and now _this_! What's next?"

Before anyone could say anything else, there was a sudden, sharp knock on the door. Kyouju squeaked and quickly hid the file under the bed and reached for his laptop to switch it on, while Rei got up and, as calmly as possible, walked to the door to open it.

"Yes?" he asked, poking his head out.

"What are you all doing in Takao's room?"

"Oh, Kai! Ah, umm…we were…" he trailed off, turning to his other teammates to check if they were ready. Takao gave the thumbs-up. Rei turned back to his captain. "We were just, uh…checking out this website that Kyouju found! Yeah, that's it!"

"I'll just bet." Kai said, his voice monotone, as he pushed his way into the room.

Kyouju, having heard what Rei said, quickly typed in a URL without glancing at it. Max and Takao tried to look interested in the screen, which remained blank while it was downloading whatever information it needed to display the site. Rei followed closely at Kai's heels.

"Web-surfing, huh?" Kai said as soon as he'd reached the trio still seated on the floor. "May I take a look at this 'website', Kyouju?" he held out his hand for the laptop, which Kyouju readily gave to him, trying to smile to hide his nervousness.

Kai took one look at the website the group had been 'checking out', and his eyes widened in surprise. However, he quickly recovered, a slight smile on his face.

"Well, you guys certainly have a different idea of what 'interesting' is. But then, you're all near that age, aren't you." He handed the laptop back to Kyouju, who took it back without a sound. Meanwhile, Kai had walked back to the door and was now opening it. Before he stepped out into the hall, he glanced back over his shoulder. "Oh, enjoy those pictures." He said, smirking.

The door swung shut, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"What did Kai mean by 'enjoy those pictures'?" Rei asked, squatting down beside Kyouju once more.

"I have no-GAAAH!" Kyouju's eyes (?) widened, and he turned positively red.

"Chief what's wrong?" Max glanced over the smaller teen's shoulder. When he saw what it was that made his friend's face turn into a ripe tomato, he, too turned red.

"Well, Max?" Takao approached the two. "What _was_ it?"

"Yeah," Rei said, crawling closer as well. "What's so funny- Oh…my…"

The neko-jin and the brunette were both red in the face now, only Reiwas trying to hold in his laughter.Takao was the first to break the silence.

"Chief!" the brunette exclaimed. He jabbed a finger at the screen. "Why'd you open a _porn_ website?"

Kyouju looked sheepish. "Well, there wasn't any time to type in a 'proper' URL, since Kai was already in the room…"

Max flopped down onto the carpeted floor. "Way to go, Chief! Now Kai thinks we're all porn freaks!"

Rei, however, was chuckling. "Good thing _I _wasn't one of those 'looking' at that thing! But you guys…looked _so_ interested in it!"

"Did you guys see Kai's _face_ when he saw it, though?" Takao said, chuckling slightly as he recalled his captain's shocked look. "Aw, man! That was the _best_!"

Kyouju was still blushing a little as he shut off the laptop again. "C'mon, guys, let's forget what happened, okay? Kai's suspicious already, so lets finish reading this file before he checks up on us again."

"Okay." Max sat up again and took his place in the circle, as did Takao and Rei. Kyouju turned to the next page.

"Looks like it deviates a bit from the chronological order of the file," Kyouju said, scanning it.

"What's it say?"

"It says it's an account of the one nearly-fatal injury Kai received while living with his mother."

"What injury?"

"The stab wound he received when he was nearly five years old."

"WHAT?"

_Social Worker: Kai, what happened before this accident?_

_Kai: Well, I was around four and a couple of months old that time, but I already knew how to do the dishes that time._

_SW: Wow. Do you know that you're the only child who, at your age, knows how to do the dishes? Did you ever break any plates?_

_K: Yes, a few. Mother got really mad. Those times, she sent me to bed without dinner._

_SW: That's awful!_

_K: I was used to it._

_SW: I see…anyway, so what happened on the night you were accidentally stabbed?_

_K: I was sitting on the stairs as I do every night before dinner. Then Mother called me upstairs to the kitchen. Once I was there, she said that I had twenty-five minutes to do the dishes and put them away. I remember that I was shocked; she'd never placed such a short time limit on doing the dishes before. I found out why in a minute. _

_SW: What do you mean?_

K: She grabbed a carving knife off the knife rack on the nearby counter, saying that she'd kill me if I went even two seconds past the limit. But I was used to her saying that, over and over again, so I didn't care. But I sensed that something was wrong as I went to grab a stool to stand on so I could reach the sink. I turned around to face Mother again, and examined her face. It was the same as always; still, I couldn't shake the feeling.

_SW: And what happened next?  
__K: I saw a wet patch on the kitchen tiles; Mother mustn't have seen it when she was mopping up. She saw me staring at me and got even madder. She started yelling at me, asking why I was looking at her like that. She stomped closer, and I remember wishing that she'd slip and fall, hurting herself. She _did_ slip, but she caught herself in time. However, as she fell, she let go of the knife. I didn't see it either, but I felt it go into my upper abdomen. And then, I lost consciousness, I guess._

_SW: Did your mother treat you?  
K: I think she did. When I woke up, I was lying on my cot without a shirt, and there was a bloodstained bandage around my middle. I looked up and saw Mother mopping my brow with a wet washcloth. She said I'd been running a fever throughout the night, and that she was glad that I'd finally woken up. _

_SW: So there was an improvement in your relationship._

_K: Well, she treated me nice for around two days, but that was it. The wound healed in about a week, but I'm not sure if it was infected or not._

_SW: How did you feel after the accident?_

_K: I felt…relieved, I guess, during the two days that Mother was nicer to me. I thought that, by being stabbed accidentally, I'd been 'freed' from the nightmare world Mother had built and in which I'd lived. But after that, things were back to 'normal', and then I felt sad again. Also, I think that was the first – and only – time I saw Mother cry when she realized that she'd hurt me. _


	7. Chapter 6: Past Acquaintances

A/N: Here you go, minna! The next chapter! I know it took soooo long...gomen! Once again, I can't remember all those who reviewed, but you know who you are and THANK YOU, _especially _those who added me to their 'fave author' or 'fave stories' list. Arigatou gozaimasu!

Disclaimer: yeah, right...and Takao's smart...

Chapter 6 – Past Acquaintances

Kyouju, rather shaken up, dropped the file. He peered at his friends' faces. Takao's eyes were wide with disbelief (again), Max had a hand clapped over his mouth, and Rei had his head down so that his long, raven bangs covered his eyes; the bespectacled teen was sure, though, that he was as shocked as he and the others were. Once more, after a few more minutes, Takao was the first to break the silence.

"He was _stabbed_?" he asked, his voice quiet. Looking at Kyouju, he continued, "Chief, are you _sure_ that's what the file says?"

Kyouju nodded. "Even if I didn't have my glasses, I'm one-hundred-percent sure I read the file correctly."

"That's…awful." Rei said suddenly, slightly startling the group. "To have been hurt fatally at such a young age…it's a wonder he didn't die that very night."

"Well, someone must have administered first aid soon after he lost consciousness…" the Chief thought out loud. He took off his glasses, cleaned them, and then replaced them, more to have something to do with his hands than anything else.

"So, shall we get to the next part?" he said, asking no one in particular. Everyone nodded, and so, the brown-haired teen picked up the file again.

_I hope something better happens in this part…_ he wished.

It's a few minutes before our break is scheduled to end, and I am heading back to the classroom. I'm looking forward to sitting in my desk again, but not because I like school a lot; I spent almost the entire break playing on the playground.

"Hey, Kai!" I turn to see Kane running towards me. I stop walking for a moment to wait for him to catch up.

"So, ready for the calligraphy lesson today?" he asks as soon as he has caught up to me. I nod.

"Yeah, I'm ready. In fact, I think it'll be a snap, 'cause my dad taught me how to write at a rather young age." I said.

"Are you bragging?" Kane asks.

"Nope. Just stating a fact."

"Uh-huh…" Kane's voice is skeptical, but he is smiling. "Is there anything _else_ that you know in advance?"

I shake my head. "I know how to count, add and subtract numbers, but that's about it. Oh, and a little bit of reading. Just the simple ones, though."

"That's a lot." Kane says.

I shake my head once more. "Nah. Father says that he's taught me only the basic lessons. He said I'd have to learn a whole lot more when I start primary school."

"That basics? You _start_ reading in primary school, and numbers, too. I'm not so sure, though…anyway, do you know how to read the newspaper?"

"Nope. Before, whenever my father bought the paper, the only pages I _did_ read were the puzzles page and the comics; I just looked at the pictures on the others."

At this point, we are outside the classroom already. Kane pauses to slide open the door, and at that point, the bell chimes. We step into the room and head to our seats to avoid being engulfed by the 'stampede' – meaning students rushing in from the playground. Soon, just like earlier this morning, the room is filled with chattering students, while Kane and I chat quietly in our seats.

After a few minutes, the teacher enters the classroom, and everyone quiets down.

"Everyone, please come to the front as I call you family name. This is so I can check attendance, and so you can claim your calligraphy materials – meaning paper, ink, and a brush. Oh, and each of you will be given a template of today's characters."

"So, Kai, how was your day?" Ichiro asks. It is around half an hour after school lets out for the day, and I am sitting in Ichiro's car. We are on the way back to the house.

"It was fine, Ichiro." I say, looking at my black leather shoes. Even though he's reminded me lots of times to call him 'Dad', I still feel uncomfortable.

"Did you make any friends?"

I nod slowly. "I met someone named Kane, who said he'd just moved from…Australia. He's a new kid, like me. Since we didn't know anyone else, we played together during morning break."

It's Ichiro's turn to nod. "I see. He sounds like a nice boy."

The car grows quiet, and I turn to stare out the window. _Dad, where are you?_ I ask silently. It's been around seven months since I saw him last. _Why haven't you called? When are you going to get me?_

"Kai-_niichan_!"

"Oof!" As soon as Ichiro and I step out of the car, something barrels into me, nearly knocking me to the ground. It's Yuuya.

"Good afternoon, Yuuya-_chan_." I say, ruffling his hair.

"I waited _all day _for you, Kai-_niichan_," he says, looking up at me with those bright eyes of his. "You took _so_ long to get back!"

"It may seem like a long time, Yuuya, but it's actually just a few hours." I say, struggling to my feet. I grab my bag from the front passenger seat – the car door was still open – and begin to walk towards the house. Yuuya toddles after me.

"Do you want to play hide-and-seek, Kai-_niichan_?"

"Okay. Why not?" I turn to smile at him, and he smiles back.

"Yippee! Can we start now?"

"Let me change out of my school uniform first." By this time, we're inside the house. I set my bag on the floor and take off my shoes. "Why don't you wait for me in the playroom?"

"Okay!"

"Y'know, even though it's mentioned so many times in this file, I _still _can't imagine Kai _playing_…" Takao commented, as Kyouju paused to turn to the next page.

"Hmm…there's not much here guys," Kyouju said as he scanned the page.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, its just social worker's observations. Judy's, I mean. From what I can gather, these observations were made on several occasions, including during a visit to the Shizuki residence, and during an unobtrusive visit to the school. It says here that Kai was making progress despite his less-than-ideal early childhood, but she says that it doesn't seem to hamper him from behaving more or less like a normal child."

"Okay…"

"If you want, I'll skip the details and go straight to the next part narrated by Kai."

"I guess that's okay…" Max mused, peering over Kyouju's shoulder as the young teen flipped forward several pages. "Hey!" he exclaimed, spotting something familiar on one page. "What was that?"

"What is it, Max?"

"I saw something. Chief, may I hold the file for a moment?"

"Sure." Kyouju smiled as he handed the file to the blonde. Max smiled his thanks, and then flipped back. As soon as he'd found what he was looking for, he gasped.

"What's wrong, Max?" Rei said, hurrying closer to the group.

Max didn't say anything, but dropped the file on the floor so that the others could see. On the page, just like the one a few pages before, were attached several photographs. They'd been slipped into plastic pockets that had been attached to the page, kind of like the ones that could be found in photo albums.

"Oh my gosh…" Max breathed, brushing his fingers against the glossy surface of one of the photos. "I'd forgotten about these…"

Takao, growing more curious by the moment, moved in on the blonde.

"Forgotten about wha- Oh." He stopped short when he saw the pictures, all jumbled together on the page.

One photo depicted Kai in the garden, standing beside Yuuya and his foster parents. Another depicted him tackling Yuuya playfully – they seemed to have been playing tag. One even showed the young Hiwatari with his arm around his newfound friend – Kane. The rest showed Kai, Max, and Yuuya playing with each other. The one Max held in his hand showed him and Kai chasing each other around the garden while Yuuya watched from the porch, giggling in delight.

Rei picked up the one of Kai tackling his foster brother. "He looks so…different. Happy." For a moment, the neko-jin's amber eyes were sad.

"Yeah…" Takao, who had been looking at the photo that showed Kai chasing Max, commented. "As surprising as it seems, this is the same Kai." He put the photo down and picked up another – the one of Kai standing with his foster family. "What could have happened?"

"I don't know…" Kyouju said, putting down the photograph _he'd _been looking at. "But we might be near to finding out." He picked up the folder again, a few photos fluttering out of their holding places. "Shall I read the next part?" he asked.

"Yeah, why not?" Max said, leaning back against the bed.

"Well, you guys might get confused because it skips ahead again, this time almost two years."

"That's okay, Chief." Takao lay back on the floor, his hands folded under his head. "I don't mind." He turned to his friends. "What about you?"

Both Rei and Max shook their heads. "No, it's fine." The blonde said. "Go right ahead."

"Okay," Kyouju replied, smiling again as he turned the page. "Here goes."

"So, Kai, anything you'd like to share with us?" Keiko says, looking at me over her rice bowl. I look back at her, putting down my rice bowl as I do so.

It was the evening of my first day back in school; I am now in third grade. Kane and I were still in the same class, and we were still best friends. However, I'd met some new people, but not all of them were nice.

"Um, Kane and I are in the same class," I answer, looking at no one in particular, and there's this nice boy who's in the sixth grade. I think his name's Hitoshi."

"So you're friends who isn't in your grade?" Ichiro smiles at me as he puts down his chopsticks. One eyebrow arches in disbelief. "And how did this come about?"

I squirm in my seat and look down at my feet. "Well…he saved me from becoming mincemeat."

"What's 'mincemeat'?" Yuuya asks, cocking his head to one side.

"Well, it's…something you wouldn't want to be," I answer. _How can you explain being smashed to a pulp to someone who's barely six years old?_

"And why _did _you almost become mincemeat?" Keiko asks. The look of concern on her face is almost enough to make me _not_ want to tell her.

For a few minutes, no one says anything. Then, Ichiro speaks up.

"Kai, were you picked on?"

My head snaps up. _How could he have known?_ I gaze at them in turn; they're all waiting for me to say something. There's nothing more I can do; my reaction has told them part of the truth, so I have to tell them the rest. I take a deep breath and begin.

"Well, there was this kid in the fourth grade. He's kind of big for his age group; I'm not sure if it's fat or not. Anyway, he was pickin' on one of my classmates. He said something about money." My hands clench into fists as I remember what happened. "I told him to pick on someone his own size; I wanted him to stop."

"Wow…" Yuuya's eyes are wide. "You're brave, Kai-_niichan_!"

"Not really…"

"So what happened after you told this kid to stop bullying your classmate?" Keiko asks gently.

"Erm…he started to turn on _me_."

"What did you do?" This time, Ichiro is the one who asks the question.

"I wanted to defend myself, but I wasn't able to…"

Keiko is startled by this revelation, and she jumps up from her seat. "He _hit_ you?" she asks as she walks over to me. "Where?"

"Well, just in the tummy, but it doesn't hurt anymore…"

"Are you sure?" Keiko's face is serious. I nod.

"Uh-huh."

Keiko sighs. "Good. Anyway," she continues as she walks back to her seat, "what happened after that?"

"That's when Hitoshi-san came in. He saw us fighting and walked over to us. He sneaked up on Dunga – that's the kid's name. Boy, was he surprised when he turned to see a sixth grader behind him!" I smile momentarily as I recall the look on Dunga's face. "After that, Hitoshi-san helped me up and took me to the nurse. She was the one who said I'd be okay."

"That's pretty exciting for a third grader." Ichiro commented. "Anything else you'd like to share?"

I shake my head. "No, nothing else, Ichiro-san." I hop down from my seat. "May I be excused? I'd like to take a bath now."

Keiko smiles. "Of course, Kai. Go ahead."

I bow, and then rush off towards my and Yuuya's room. I collect my pajamas and then proceed to the bathroom. I've been looking forward to a hot soak ever since that afternoon. Ever since I felt the bruise on my belly.

"Are you guys keeping track of this?" Takao slumped back against the bed in disbelief. "For crying out loud, he met Max, Kane, Yuuya, Dunga, and even my _older brother_!"

"Wonder how many more of our friends he's met before?" Kyouju thought aloud.

Rei was thoughtful. "What I'm wondering about is this: if he's met them before, how come when he meets them again, there's no…spark of recognition, or something like that?"

"Y'know, that's something I'd like to find out, too." Max added, stretching the kinks out of his back. "By the way, how much longer are we going to be here?"

Kyouju flipped through the folder. "Well, there are only a couple more pages to go, so I'd say half an hour to forty-five minutes." The bespectacled youngster turned to the group. "Is that okay with you guys?"

Takao nodded. "Sure!"

"No problem." Max added, while Rei merely nodded in response.

"Okay, if you're really sure…"

_And here I thought I was so close to finding that folder…_Kai thought as he stared up at the starry sky. _Of course, I could be wrong about Kinomiya and the others _not_ taking it…_

He sighed. The rain had stopped hours ago, leaving the slate-haired blader wishing it hadn't. He loved it when it rained; it reminded him of the day when…

Kai closed his eyes and sat down on his bed, allowing his thoughts and feelings to consume him, if only briefly. Now that he'd read the file, it was hard not to burst out into tears at the remembrance of what he'd lost so early in life.

_No!_ He admonished himself forcefully, his eyes snapping open. _You aren't supposed to…_

He left the thought unfinished as he stood up and walked to his door. _Maybe an hour or two on the balcony – or even the _roof_ – will help me pull myself together…_

"'Bye, Ichiro! 'Bye, Yuuya!" I call over my shoulder as I wave to them. I can see Yuuya at the window, his bright, smiling face almost plastered to the glass.

"'See you, Kai-_niichan_!" his faint voice barely reaches me. Ichiro is smiling, too.

"Take care, Kai," He calls after me. "Don't let that bully get to you."

"I won't!" I call back, smiling. Then, Ichiro revs the engine, and soon, the car is cruising down the street and out of sight. I then turn towards the school building.

It's rather early; there are almost no students around. I walk over to the library, hoping to find the book I started reading yesterday during lunch break.

I don't think I was looking where I was going because the next thing I know, I bump into someone, knocking both of us to the ground.

"Ow! Why don't you look where you're going?"

"I'm really sorry," I say as I stand and offer my hand to whomever it is I've knocked over.

A small hand daintily slips into mine, and I look at my 'victim' for the first time. It's a girl, probably in second grade, and from what I can see, her hair is rather short – only until her shoulders – and it is a dark shade of brown.

The next second, she looks up and her mouth drops open. She knows that she has probably insulted an elder student. I smile at her – unwittingly looking deep into her wide ruby-colored eyes – to show that there's no harm done.

"It's okay; it was my fault," I assure as I help her to her feet. "You're right; I wasn't looking where I was going. You have every right to be angry."

She looks confused; I can almost hear her thinking: _Why is a senior talking to me this way?_ She doesn't know that I've taken an instant liking to her, despite the rather brash personality. She looks rather cute, to say the least.

She smiles, as if to say 'thank you', and then turns and walks away. She's likely to be headed to her classroom.

For a few minutes, I stand, alone, in the corridor, watching her figure slowly disappear from my line of sight. What I feel can't be described with words; I turn and slowly make my way to the classroom, not realizing that I've forgotten about the book. But then, the book is last thing on my mind now.


	8. Chapter 7: Discovered

A/N: After soooo long...it's another chapter! Yey! To all those who have loyally returned to to read this fic, I'm so sorry for the lack of updates! But I have good reasons for it! First, I lost my story notes (without which I get totally lost about what comes next in the story); next, I had to finish all these darn projects! Thankfully, I've already finished them and have handed them in...with top grades to boot! Yess!

Okay...enough rambling...

Disclaimer: Don't own Beyblade, but I do own the storyline...

* * *

**Chapter 7: Discovered**

"Oookay…" Rei commented, looking confused. "Why did it stop there?"

"I don't get it," Takao piped up. "What does a _girl_ have to do with anything?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Takao," Kyouju said, looking just as bewildered as his friends felt. "But I guess we'll find out in the next page."

"Does anyone want a snack?" Max asked as he stood up and stretched again. "Although I hate to admit it, I'm getting rather hungry."

"That sounds good," Takao replied, smiling widely at the thought of food. "Bologna sandwich with extra cheese for me, please!"

"Very well, monsieur," Max replied in a very bad French accent, causing everyone else to burst into laughter. Max chuckled as well, and then added, "Does anyone else want to order?"

"Since you asked, Max, could I have a glass of milk and a couple of cookies?" Kyouju asked.

"And I'd like a grilled cheese sandwich." Rei added, smiling. "That is, if that's no problem with you."

Max nodded good-naturedly. "Of course not, Rei!" he replied. With that, he turned and went out into the hall.

* * *

Kai exhaled slowly, savoring his surroundings. It had been some time since he last went out on the roof like this, just to ponder and to reflect. Training his teammates took up most of his time, not to mention that the past two weeks he hadn't much free time, what with devising new training programs and all. Deep inside, he knew that he could have asked Kyouju for help with that area, but he wanted a program that would allow him to test the limits of each blader.

He stared up at the sky, taking in its many glittering stars and the half-shadowed pale orb that was the moon. He was different, he knew. Not many people were fond of the night; Kai did. In fact, it seemed as though he _lived _just to savor an hour or so of peace and solitude with only the darkness' velvet cloak to accompany him on these 'excursions'. For as long as he could remember, he had loved nighttime; even as a kid growing up, he'd take time off to clamber onto the roof, equipped only with his journal. There he'd write whatever came to mind, although it was usually a poem that expressed his current feelings.

With a relaxed sigh, the slate-haired teen reached into the small knapsack he'd slung over his shoulder for this night's 'reflection', and brought out a small tome bound in black leather and a red pen. After casting a swift glance upward at the heavens, he untied the leather strap holding the book closed; he turned the pages quickly until he came to one that was blank, and then started to write.

——————

_Kai's Log; August 12th_

_Time: 10:45.32_

_The requested file from 'the Center' finally arrived today, during breakfast. Unfortunately, Kinomiya caught a glimpse of the envelope and decided to investigate. I didn't catch him in the act, but I **do**know that he was in my room earlier today. Not to mention that the file is now missing from my quarters._

_The storm abated, and then stopped entirely at around half past six this evening. By that time, we had finished training, this time, one that was devised by Kyouju. Kon and Mizuhara did well in the exercise, as did I; however, Kinomiya failed to attend, his excuse being an upset stomach._

_I know I shouldn't be keeping track, but according to my calendar, it has been exactly seven years, four months, three days, fourteen hours, thirty-two minutes and twelve seconds since I last saw Father. Although I hate Grandfather for ordering him to decide between his job and his dream, I hate Father **more** because of the decision he made; it cost him his son..._

_Always before, the spring returned…_

_The bright world in its cycle spun…_

_In wind and flowers, grass and fern_

_Assured and cradled by the golden sun…_

_As is usual, you could explain_

_The turning darkness of the earth…_

_And how darkness then embraced the rain_

_That gave the fields and meadows birth…_

_Already I've forgotten these things…_

_How on earth the lone wolf survives_

_The coming of a thousand springs…_

_The seasons of a thousand lives…_

_Now, winter is my sole memory…_

_Then fall, then the summer bright…_

_But every spring from now on will be_

_Another season turning into night…_

———————

Kai scanned what he had written so far. He smiled. It remained the same as all his other journal entries – revealing what he felt at that particular time without revealing _too_ much. For some reasons unknown, he preferred the entries that ended with poems. He shook his head and replaced the pen and journal in his knapsack. And then, he placed his hands behind his head and lay down, allowing himself to soak in the sights and sounds of his beloved night.

* * *

"I'm back!" Max sang as he Takao's door open.

"Max!" Takao cried gleefully; to him, the wait for food was the most excruciating. Like a ravenous wolf, he grabbed a plate and began gobbling down his sandwich.

Max laughed good-naturedly. "You're welcome," he said, looking at the brunette. He then proceeded to set down a plate with around ten cookies and a glass of milk in front of Kyouju and a plate containing two grilled-cheese sandwiches between himself and the neko-jin.

"I hope you didn't read anything while I was gone," Max said, reaching for his sandwich.

"Don't worry, Max, we did nothing of the sort." Kyouju said, taking a sip of his milk. "Oh, and thanks for the snack."

"Don't sweat it, Chief," the blonde replied cheerfully.

"Shall we get on with the reading?" Rei asked after taking a bite of _his_ sandwich. "I changed my mind; I want to get back to my room as soon as possible."

"Sure," Kyouju obligingly picked up the folder and flipped to the next page he planned to read. "Should I start right now?"

"We're all ears."

"Alright…"

* * *

"Hello? Earth to Kai! Hello!"

A hand waves in front of my face, and I am startled out of my daydream. It's Kane.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, Kane. I guess I was distracted," I say sheepishly, smiling at him.

"No problem, Kai. I get like that sometimes, too," he said, chuckling, and then adds, "My mom yelled at me often enough for 'spacing out' on her at home!" He points at my candy bar, which I haven't unwrapped yet. "Are you going to eat that?"

Just five minutes earlier, the recess bell rang. Kane and I raced out of the building to get to the wooden table directly under the oak tree; every student want to sit at this table – you have a clear view of the schoolyard, plus, the oak provides shade to shield us from the burning rays of the sun.

"Oh, you mean this candy bar?" I pause to pick at the seal, so I can start unwrapping it. "Of course I'm going to eat it. I don't just give up sweets, you know!"

Kane laughs again, the irritating laugh that makes you want to hit him, and yet, restrains you. "Okay, okay, just checking. You know I always bring my own snacks, Kai."

"Yeah, well, maybe you forgot yours today. You never know, Kane…" I glance at him from out of the corner of my eye; he's unwrapping what looks like a granola bar. I turn my attention to the playground and its 'inhabitants', when suddenly I spot _her_, the girl from the library a few days ago.

She's sitting _alone_ at a table near the swings. What's strange is that she doesn't _look_ lonely, but then I'm not _that_ sure. She's different from other girls her age, that's for sure. Where others are sporting long hair, pigtails, or braids, she wears her hair rather short.

And then, before I can stop myself, I get up. Clutching the still-unopened candy bar, I make my way over to her table. I can feel Kane's bewildered stare, but I don't acknowledge it. In what seems like only a nanosecond, I am standing beside her, but she doesn't notice me. I clear my throat discreetly, making her turn to face me.

"Hey." I smile at her. She smiles back, though the smile isn't genuine.

"Hi." She replies. I'm surprised at how easily I can read her face. Nervousness and curiosity are written there, as easily read as though I were reading a book. I decide to break the ice.

"What are you doing all by yourself?" I ask as I sit down next to her.

"Well, I'm new around here, and I can't exactly relate with most of my classmates, so…" her voice trails off, unable to finish the reply.

"Aren't you lonely?"

She shakes her head and looks away. She is trying to put up a brave front, but it's no use; I can sense her loneliness and uncertainty. I decide to leave her be.

"Look, if you just want someone to talk to, just tell me, okay?" I say as I stand up, preparing to leave. "Oh, yeah. Here. Think of it as a…'welcome to school' gift." Here I hand over the candy bar. "See you."

"Wait." The hesitant, yet thankful tone in her voice stops me in my tracks and makes me turn around to face her again. She is clutching the candy bar tightly in one hand and fumbling in her pocket with the other. I wait.

Soon she stretches out the hand; she wants to give me something, too. As her small fingers uncurl, there is a flash of red, and a familiar shape presents itself. It is a tiny paper bird – a heron. I reach for it and clasp it tenderly in my palm. I know how delicate _origami_ creatures are, and yet so sturdy.

"Thanks," I hear myself saying. "But why a heron?"

"Well," she begins, her voice growing haughty again. "I figured since the heron is a symbol of quick-mindedness, it would make the perfect gift for you."

"A gift?" I cock my head; now I'm the one confused. "What for?"

"I haven't forgotten what happened near the library three days ago, you know," she says, smiling playfully. "You _were_ the one who bumped into me, right?" I nod, wanting her to go on. "I thought that, if I gave you a paper heron, you wouldn't be so absentminded next time."

I chuckled. "Yeah, well, thanks."

"Hold on! I don't even know your name yet!"

I smile at her, glad to see I'm reaching someone. "It's Hiwatari Kai."

"Mine's Tachibana Hiromi."

"Pleased to finally know you, Tachibana," I say. As is custom, I address her using her family name. Only she can give me permission to use her given name, just as only I can give her permission to use mine.

"Thank you for the candy, Hiwatari-_senpai_," she says. She pauses before tearing the wrapper open. "Aren't _you_ going to eat anything?"

"No, I'm fine, Tachibana." I say, smiling to assure her. "I've eaten already." And then, I turn away. "It's not as though I'm not eating at all…" I add as an afterthought. I can almost see the startled look on her face as she hears that, but I hold up a hand to stop any arguments. "Don't worry about it; I'm fine, _really_." I walk away before she can say anything else.

I look up to see Kane smiling at me. It looks stupid actually, but I don't say anything. Finally, I reach the table and sit down.

"So." Kane says after a few moments, breaking the silence.

"What?"

"A girl, huh?"

I turn to face him, confused. "So? I met her a few days ago; she said that she's new here and doesn't know anyone that well."

"You haven't known her for a week and _already_ you're cozying up to her?" Kane's grin, if possible, grows wider. "You've got it _bad_, Kai!"

"Got _what_ bad?"

"You're _in love_! Don't you get it?" Kane wiggles his eyebrows, making me laugh. I punch him playfully on the arm.

"Cut it out, Kane! I gave her a candy bar and talked to her for a few minutes. So what? That doesn't mean anything! I just thought she'd like the company, seeing as she's new and all…"

"Are you _sure_ that's all you were doing, making her feel…welcome?" He raises a questioning eyebrow.

I roll my eyes. "Of _course_ I'm sure. Besides, don't you think we're too _young_ to be looking for love?"

The look on Kane's face as he gropes for a retort – which I'm _sure_ he's doing – is priceless. Then he sighs. "You got a point there, bud…"

"Of course." I say, using that tone I know he must hate – the self-assured one – just to see how he will react. "Don't I always?"

"Oh, you…" Before I know it, Kane is chasing me around the entire playground. He may be bigger than me, but I know I'm more agile and have more stamina. Soon he's gasping for breath by the fountain, while I am leaning against the chain-link fence, barely breathing hard.

"Give it up, Kane," I say as I lean over a fountain to take a sip of water. " You're never going to catch me…Hey! Watch it!" Kane has reached over and made the trickle of water spray out in all directions. Fortunately, it misses me. Well, sort of. I glance down and see my socks slightly dampened and my shoes speckled with droplets.

"You get back here, Tsubasa!" I cry. Kane dashes off, laughing like a hyena.

* * *

"_Hiromi_?" This time, Rei was surprised. He was sure, though, that the others were as shocked as he was. "As in, the girl who kept squabbling with Takao last time she was with us?"

"It appears so," Kyouju said, scanning the paragraphs that described her and when she introduced herself. "The description fits, and, as far as I know, there are no other girls named Tachibana Hiromi."

"What _else_ are we going to find out reading this file?" Takao said, flopping down onto his bed. "At the rate we're going, I won't be surprised if I found out that Chairman Daitouji was his _teacher_!"

"I almost agree with you, Takao," Max said, smiling. "It seems like _anything_'s possible…"

"Well, I guess the rest of this file will have to wait, guys," Kyouju said, closing the folder and tucking it under his arm. "As much as I'd like to finish reading, it's nearly half past ten, and you know how Kai is about getting up early for the first training session."

Rei slapped his forehead. "Of course! Man, I almost forgot!" he turned to the stormy-eyed teen. "Takao, Kai wants you to get up _extra_ early tomorrow."

The blue eyes widened and the brunette sat up. "WHAT? Why?"

"He said it's to make up for the session you missed today. I don't know what he wants you to do, though…"

"Great…" Takao groaned, flopping back down. "I am _so_ dead…"

"Hey, don't feel so bad, buddy…" Max said, patting his friend's arm. "It can't be _that _bad…"

"When _Kai_'s your trainer, it's _always_ bad…"

"C'mon, guys," Rei said, standing up and stretching the kinks out of his back. "Lets go and leave Takao to his misery." To Takao, he said, "'Night, man, and good luck. You'll need it…"

"Rei!" Kyouju said, exasperated. "You're not helping matters any if you talk that way! Anyway, we should _all_ get a good night's sleep, so as soon as you get back to your rooms, try to go to bed right away, okay?"

"Sure, Chief," Max said, grinning. He was already out in the hall. "No problem."

"I have insomnia now and then," Rei replied, "but I'll see what I can do." Saying this, he, too, left the room.

"Try to get as much sleep as you can, Takao," the bespectacled researcher said. "That way, you'll perform much better during the training. Then Kai _won't _have to kick your butt."

"Yeah, sure, Kyouju…" The blue-eyed teen grinned. Kyouju smiled back, and then shut the door.

Takao got up and went to his closet. He pulled out a shirt and a pair of shorts, muttering under his breath. Then he went to the bathroom to change.

* * *

"Don't tell me you guys aren't in bed yet." The quiet voice sliced through the air, making the three teens stop dead in their tracks.

"Kai!" Kyouju said nervously as he turned around to face his captain. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"We thought you were asleep!" Max added, a nervous grin on his face.

"I thought _you_ guys were asleep. What are you doingstill up?" Kai asked. Suddenly, his gaze averted to something the young genius held in his hand.

_The folder…_ The crimson eyes narrowed. "And where did you get that?"

"Oh, um…we found it…" Max said, also averting his gaze to a landscape painting on the wall. "Why?"

"Well, it matches a folder I've been trying to find since this afternoon." Kai stretched out his hand. Kyouju was only too happy to give it to his superior; he didn't relish the idea of becoming a Kyouju-burger.

The trio thought he'd leave them right there, but Kai just stood there, flipping through the file. After a while he seemed satisfied. Before continuing on his way down the hall to his room, he gave each of them a scathing look.

"Whew!" Kyouju said. "I'm glad he left just when he did. I was _this_ close to telling him what we had been doing all this time." To emphasize, the researcher held his thumb and forefinger around a millimeter apart. "This close!"

"Yeah, well, just be glad we found out what we did," Max said, ever the optimistic one. "We'll just have to convince him – somehow – to tell us the rest of his story."

Suddenly, the ever-alert neko-jin spotted something small, black and rather shiny lying by Max's feet. He bent to pick it up.

"What's this?"

* * *

A/N: There! Another chappie done! Oh, yeah! About the poem Kai 'wrote' in the story...I read it somewhere in a book, and it just seemed so right for his 'jounal entry' that I had to include it, with some edited parts, of course. That means I'm not claiming ownership for the poem...I forgot who really wrote it, though...

And as for characters' last names:aside from the names ofmembers ofTeam BBA,I'm not sure whether I have the right last names or not; I just threw them in because they seemed to go well with their first names.

Dewa matta! Peace out!


	9. Chapter 8: A New Perspective

A/N: Yay! After two weeks, another update! Okay, so I actually had this typed up on my home PC a few weeks back - OK, two months back! However, I was still revising chapter seven, but I got the document up on around the same time as the previous chapter...What happened was (if you didn't read the notice at the end of my profile): us seniors are no longer allowed to use the Internet facilities our school provides for us each year. groans darn it...

Oh, you may see some unfamiliar names in the chapter. I used the Japanese version for Kai's grandfather's name, and I made one up for Kai's father.

Disclaimer: Obviously...

* * *

**Chapter 8: A New Perspective**

_Finally I got it back!_ Kai exulted, slamming the door shut behind him. He gazed around his room for what seemed the umpteenth time that day. He couldn't help himself; it was a habit he'd formed years ago, its purpose unknown. Heaving a soft sigh, he went to his closet and pulled out his usual sleeping attire: a pair of boxers and a loose black tank. For some strange reason, he couldn't wait to get into bed.

A few minutes later, he'd changed, and now sat on the edge of the bed. Spying his knapsack still sitting on the floor, he picked it up and flung it onto his desk, where it landed neatly in the center. The slate-haired teen smirked. Being able to throw a book, a knapsack, or anything else onto a tabletop without scattering other articles was a talent he prided himself on.

He stood up and walked over to the door. Once there, he reached up and flicked the switch that extinguished the lights. Now his room was in semi-darkness, but that mattered little to him. He didn't fear anything, even in the dark. Besides, there wasn't any clutter to maneuver around, which made it easier to get to his bed. Soon, he was lying on his bed on top of the covers; he rarely bothered with blankets.

He turned on his side to face the window, as though searching for something in the deep purple skies. Apparently, what he sought wasn't there, for he sighed and turned his back on the pale moonlight wafting in through the glass.

* * *

_"See you, Kane!" Kai called over his shoulder. The blue-haired child, Kane, waved as he stepped into his parents' waiting car. There was a dull roar, a small cloud of exhaust, and they drove off. Meanwhile, Kai searched for the familiar blue Toyota – Ichiro's car – that he knew would always be waiting for him after school. _

_The after-school crowd on the playground thinned; minutes passed and he still hadn't spotted his ride. Kai clutched his black and red backpack closer as he swiveled his head from left to right, and then back again as he scanned the traffic-congested streets. _Ichiro must be stuck in all that traffic…_the crimson-eyed youngster thought, attempting to push away his anxiety. _But he would have beeped his horn…

_Taking a deep breath to keep from crying, he made his way to his usual lunch bench and took a seat. _He just got delayed…He was held up at work…He'll be here any minute now…_the words tumbled through his head. He tried to convince himself that everything was all right._

_"Kai?" _

_Kai turned around, surprised not so much at the sound of his name but at _who_ was calling him. The voice was so surprised, and yet…_

_"Kai, what's wrong? You – huh?"_

_Kai had gotten up and ran towards the person, promptly knocking him over. _

_"It's you! I can't believe it! When…how…?" Kai, too overwhelmed to speak, looked up instead into the face that he had so longed to see. The tanned skin…the angular nose…the strong chin…floppy black hair…and the crimson eyes that held his own. "Dad…"_

_"Yes, Kai, it's me." The older Hiwatari hauled himself to his feet and brushed himself, then Kai, off. "It's great to see you, too. So tell me, how've you been?" He knelt down and looked deep into his son's eyes. "I see Ichiro and Keiko have been taking good care of you."_

_Kai nodded. "Yeah, they have. Yuuya helped a little, too. He taught me how to be a big brother."_

_"Well, that's nice to hear." Yuuhi Hiwatari laughed, and then became serious."You want to know _why_, right?" _

_"Yeah, Dad, I do. Why only _now, _after all these years? What happened?"_

_"Well, I guess someone accidentally disconnected my phone, so the calls never reached me. I only found out last night when I went to investigate at the Center."_

_"So Judy told you where I was?"_

_"Yeah, and she told me how to get in touch with your foster parents. I met with them today and told them what had happened. They were sad that you had to go, but happy that I had found you after so long. They have your stuff all packed up and ready to go."_

_"Does that mean…" Kai turned a sad face up to his father._

_"Yes, Kai. You have to leave Yuuya behind. He belongs with _his_ parents."_

_"Can I still see them?"_

_"Of course! We still have to stop by their place to get your things, so you can say goodbye. And since you know where they live, you can visit when you want to." Yuuhi smiled down at him. "Is that fine with you?"_

_"As long as I still get to see them…"_

_"Then it's settled! C'mon, let's get to the car, shall we?"_

* * *

In his room, the now-sleeping Kai smiled peacefully, his eyes closed. He didn't want this dream to end. This was how he wanted to be.

For several minutes, all was quiet. Suddenly, the seventeen-year-old captain tossed fitfully from side to side.

"No…"

* * *

_"This is unacceptable!" Souchiro Hiwatari – Kai's grandfather and CEO of Hiwatari Enterprises – thundered as he slammed a fist down on the mahogany table he kept in his office. "You should be _working _for the company, _not_ wasting your time designing a child's _plaything_!"_

_Kai, hiding behind a potted plant, cringed at the sound of his grandfather so angry. However, Yuuhi, though the object of the elder Hiwatari's rage, didn't stir, nor did he say anything._

_There was silence for several minutes as both men anticipated the other's move. Kai watched, frightened, the crimson eyes darting back and forth between the two. Finally, Souchiro spoke._

"_That was your last chance, Yuuhi…"_

"_I know, Father."_

"_You shall not address me so callously within the company compound!" Souchiro roared, slamming another fist on the desk. Splinters of wood flaked off; Kai's eyes widened at the sight. _How could he be so strong?

"_Now, since we are both aware that you wasted your final chance," Souchiro's voice was dangerously low. "You must choose. Continue working for me and the company, but you give up your beloved toys…" At this, Yuuhi's eyes narrowed at the scathing reference to his passion. If the older man noticed this, he gave no sign. Still, he talked. "Or 'embrace' this 'dream' of yours, but leave the company…"_

That doesn't sound _too_ bad…_Kai thought, almost smiling in relief. But his eyes widened with shock at his grandfather's next words._

"_And nevermore return."_

"_NO!" Kai shouted, running out of his hiding place and towards his father._

"_Kai!" Yuuhi exclaimed at the sight of his offspring. Souchiro said nothing._

"_Dad, please don't do it!" Kai begged, clutching at his father's shirt. "It's okay; you don't _have _to finish my blade. Really, you don't!"_

"_Enough." Souchiro said sternly, glaring at the boy. Kai stiffened at the look on his elder's face. "Your father must make his own decision, boy." The slate-haired child bit his lip to keep from crying and backed away a little. Meanwhile, Yuuhi took a deep breath._

"_I choose…"_

_Kai shut his eyes tight, as though closing them would stop him from hearing his father's next words._

"_I choose to finish what I have started."_

"_So be it…"_

"_No…" Kai whispered, his eyes wide and shimmering with unshed tears._

"_Get out of my sight!" Souchiro gestured towards the door. "From here on end, you are no son of mine, Yuuhi! Now go! I do not wish to see you anymore."_

* * *

"**NO!**"

Kai shot up in bed, sweat pouring off his face, the blankets a twisted mess around his lower torso. He was breathing hard, he noticed, and he could tell his eyes were wide with fright.

He clutched at the blankets, just as his child-self had clutched at his father. He uttered but one word, his voice a bare whisper. "Dad…"

"Kai?" The door creaked open, and a finger of light danced on the darkened floor. Instantly, the stoic teen retreated into his hardened shell.

"What?" he snapped, his voice dripping with annoyance. A raven-haired head slowly peeked in through the door. Rei.

"I heard you cry out," the amber-eyed teen replied, smiling apologetically for having 'disturbed' his captain, "and I came to see if you were okay."

"I'm fine, Kon." Kai snapped once more. Inside, though, he wondered what it was in his dream that had made him actually cry out.

"You sure you don't need anything?" the neko-jin persisted.

"I'm sure. Now leave me be. Remember, you still need to get up early for tomorrow morning's training session."

"Aye-aye, sir." Rei said rather playfully, giving a mock salute before shutting the door. Kai could hear him whistling jauntily as he walked down the hall and back to his room.

After a few minutes, the slate-haired blader relaxed and settled back down on his bed. _Why did I dream about that?_ He wondered, gazing absentmindedly into the night sky. _And why now, after all these years?_

* * *

"You _what?_" Takao fairly screeched. It was the next day, immediately after training, and he and the other team members had met out in the garden. There, Kyouju told him what had happened the night before.

"I'm really sorry, Takao…" Kyouju said. "But it could have been worse."

Max nodded. "Yeah, I recall you said something about Kai nearly finding it in your room. What if he _really _found out you had the folder all the time when you said you didn't? Then what would happen?"

"Oh, yeah…" Takao said, nodding sullenly. Then Rei remembered what he'd found the night before. He felt through his pockets and triumphantly brought it out.

"Guys, what about this?" he asked, holding up the small black tome. Takao was instantly attracted to it.

"What is it, Rei?" he asked. The others crowded around, too, trying to get close enough to see the item.

"I don't know yet," Rei said, trying not to lose his patience with his clamoring teammates. "I haven't looked – Whoa!"

One of Max's fingers jiggled the strap that held the book shut, and it fell onto the ground amongst their feet, it's pages free to turn in the breeze that suddenly blew up. Rei picked it up.

"Hey!" he exclaimed as he flipped through the pages. "It's…Kai's journal!"

"Journal?" Takao's eyes gleamed at the prospect of getting to know more about the silent persona.

"I don't know about this, guys…" Kyouju piped in, glancing nervously about him. "A journal is much more private than a file; it contains the owner's deepest, most guarded thoughts about everyday stuff." The chestnut-haired teen gazed warily at the immaculately white pages. "Reading a person's diary or journal is like reading that same person's mind; it's invading their privacy."

"Oh, c'mon, Chief!" Takao wheedled. "Just a little peek, just to see what happened where we left off…Please?"

Kyouju sighed. He hated it when Takao pulled the 'puppy-dog face', which he just had. "Oh, okay, fine…" he agreed half-heartedly. He groaned inwards. _We are _so_ dead…_

* * *

_Kai's log, May 18th,_

_Time: 4: 45.22 PM_

_I hate him!_

_Dad was given the opportunity to stay with Grandfather's company, but he didn't take it. He chose his stupid Beyblades. That was sixteen days ago; now he's gone, and I'm staying with Grandfather._

_There's one thing I noticed about Grandfather, though. He seems unaffected by the 'loss' of his son, but when he looks at me, his face…softens somehow, and he keeps asking how I'm feeling. Of course I tell him I'm fine, just to throw him off; I can't tell him how I **really** feel, of course._

_For some strange reason, Grandfather said something about giving me the family heirloom, Dranzer, earlier than expected. He was supposed to give it to me on my 12th birthday, but he might give it to me on my 10th, and I have no idea why…_

_Logging out,_

_K.Hiwatari_

* * *

"Did I just read that right?" Takao asked, rubbing his eyes with a finger. "Did Kai just call Beyblades _stupid_?"

"He must have, 'cause I'm wearing my glasses, and I read that, too." Kyouju replied, still staring at the page they had just read together.

"But why?" Max asked. "It doesn't say anything in the entry.

"Well, maybe it had something to do with his dad, or something like that…" Rei suggested.

"Yeah, but what?"

* * *

"Good afternoon, Kai."

The deep, gravelly voice interrupted the seventeen-year-old captain's train of thoughts. His eyes snapped open and he turned his head towards the large oak door – the only entrance into the mountaintop villa.

Kai breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the familiar, fatherly and slight chubby face of Chairman Daitouji. The former gave a stiff nod in acknowledgement.

"Chairman Daitouji."

"How are Takao and the others doing?" the slightly balding elder asked, hanging his black bowler hat on the hat rack located next to the door.

"Mizuhara and Kon are doing well, and Kyouju is a great assistant when formulating training sessions to enhance a particular statistic, such as endurance." Kai replied evenly, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"What of Takao?"

"He hasn't improved as of yet…"

"How disappointing."

"- But I'm sure that will soon change." A tiny smile graced the usually silent teen's lips. "He's a fast learner. Add to that his 'arrogance' when it comes to battle and his determination…"

"And you get a champion." The chairman chuckled slightly. "Yuuhi used to say that of you, Kai."

At the mention of his father's name, Kai's eyes snapped open once more. "Y-you knew my father?" he stuttered, turning a bewildered face to the team's benefactor. "How?"

"He came to me before, the day he…" Daitouji cleared his throat in an effort to stall for time; Kai would have none of it.

"The day he _what_?" he pressed.

The elderly chairman sighed and avoided the teen's penetrating gaze. "The day he had to leave you with your grandfather."

* * *

"Aha!" Takao exclaimed triumphantly. "I found it!"

"What does it say?" Max asked. "Does it say anything about why Kai hated Beyblades?"

Takao nodded vigorously. "As a matter of fact, it does."

Kyouju smiled his thanks, picked up the journal and read silently for a few minutes; he wanted to get just the gist of the entry.

"Okay, listen up, guys. This says that on May 2nd of 1997, Hiwatari Yuuhi – that must be Kai's dad – was summoned to the CEO's office. He was asked to choose between working for the company or designing and producing Beyblades, which were relatively new at that time."

"I don't know about you guys, but I'd choose Beyblades." Takao commented.

"That's exactly what Mr. Hiwatari chose." Kyouju added, reading further along the entry. "However, he had no idea that choosing his passion over his responsibility would entail him to give up his most prized possession.

"What? A solid-gold blade he designed?" Takao quipped.

"His son."

"Kai?" Takao's mouth hung open.

"Yes. It states here that he was commanded to leave the company premises at once, leaving Kai with Hiwatari Souchiro -"

"Hey! That's Kai's grandfather, isn't it?" Max asked.

"You mean the one who owns Biovolt?" Rei added.

Kyouju nodded. "I guess Biovolt and Balkov Abbey are branches of Hiwatari Enterprises – the family corporation. Anyway," he continued, wishing to get the journal back to its rightful owner as soon as possible, "as I was saying – he left Kai with the latter's grandfather, and, aside from being _disowned_," – here the researcher's eyes (!) widened – "he was given stern instructions never to contact the minor."

"What does _that_ mean?" Takao asked, puzzled.

Max understood. "It means that, because of Beyblades…Kai's dad…wasn't allowed to see him again."

* * *

"How…how did you know?" Kai asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He clenched his hands into fists to stop them from shaking; his face seemed drained of color. He gazed at the still silent elder, willing him to speak. It seemed that his thoughts were made known, for the next moment, Chairman Daitouji _did_ speak.

"It's simple, really." The old man spoke evenly as he got to his feet, leaning slightly on his cane for support. "At least, when you're in charge of a certain foster care center."

Kai blinked. "Sento-Daitouji Juvenile Hall…" Suddenly, the slate-haired teen chuckled. "_Daitouji_! Of course!" he said, shaking his head. "How very stupid of me not to have seen it before. But that still leaves the question: what of my father?"

"You shall know what became of him soon enough, young Kai-"

"_Don't _treat me like I'm still nine years old!" Kai ground out viciously. He hated it when people called him 'young'; sure, he wasn't eighteen years old _yet_, but that didn't stop him from thinking he wasn't a child anymore.

"Sorry, dear boy, my mistake."

Kai rolled his eyes. _Even after I tell him, he still does it…_he sighed, and his shoulders drooped. "Why are you here, Chairman?" he asked, his voice now sad and quiet. The loss of strength and authority in the captain's voice did not go unnoticed by his elder.

_He must be thinking of his father…a good sign, _he thought. Aloud, he said, "Well, Kai, I just wanted to tell you that I was thinking of having a little reunion right here in this villa."

"So?"

"I wanted to inform you so that you'd get ready." Chairman Daitouji took out a handkerchief and mopped his face, not so much with wiping away sweat as having something to do with his hands. "You needn't worry about preparations; someone will be arriving here shortly – caterers, decorators and such."

"So why the reunion?" Kai asked, his voice back to its usual tone (the I-couldn't-care-less one).

"Let's just say I decided to gather together the team's 'old friends', Kai. Or should I say," – here Daitouji looked up and stared straight into Kai's eyes – "_your_ old friends."


	10. Chapter 9: The Journal

A/N: Here I am, back with Chapter 9! Yay!

Mei: Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer - Aki: Hikari doesn't own Beyblade or any of its characters...obviously...

* * *

**  
Chapter 9: The Journal**

"My…friends?" Kai stopped short. "What…what do you mean?"

"I think you know what I mean, Kai," Daitouji was smiling as he got up – again – and made his way over to his charge. "Surely you recall the friends you made – Kane, Yuuya, Hiromi…"

"And Kinomiya Hitoshi." Kai finished. "Of course I remember them. I met Hiromi, Yuuya, and Kane nearly two years ago, and I met Hitoshi just last year. But,"

he added as he stood up to stand near the bay window, "I consider only Hiromi and Yuuya 'friends', and we're not even close. The others; they're mere acquaintances." He turned away from Daitouji and gazed silently out at the front lawn.

"But do you recall when you _first_ met them?" Kai whirled around.

"_What_?"

The chairman raised a questioning eyebrow as he gazed at the crimson-eyed captain. "I said: do you recall the _very_ first time you met them?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Kai said, looking away. He wished the old man would let the matter go.

The elderly benefactor smiled. "That's why I've invited them over here, _tonight_…"

* * *

"Ouch." Rei commented as he sat down, leaning back on his palms. "That's harsh." 

Takao was not-too-silently steaming. "That's…preposterous!" he exclaimed, causing Kyouju to nearly fall of the wooden bench. "That's…the most stupid reason I've ever heard! Practically _banishing_ someone, just 'cause they're doing something they love?"

"Well, Souchiro Hiwatari doesn't seem the type to care, does he?" Max asked. "Poor Kai, though, having to grow up without a father figure…"

"Yeah…" Kyouju agreed.

"But what happens next, I wonder…" Rei mused aloud, staring off into space thoughtfully.

"Well, there's another entry here…" Kyouju replied after flipping forward a few pages. "It's dated…December 10th of the same year. Hmm…that's a week after Kai's birthday; that means he was ten years old when he wrote this particular entry…"

"So what's _this_ one about?"

* * *

_Kai's Log, December 10th,_

_Time – 2:35.53_

_Right now, I'm on a plane bound for Russia. So far, the trip has been boring. Grandfather was kind enough to offer to bring me along on this little business trip of his. He said something about not wanting me to be alone so near to Christmas. I guess that means I'll be gone from school for quite some time…_

_I really wonder how Kane and Hiromi-chan are doing…especially Hiromi-chan. I've noticed that she hasn't really made that many friends at school; I'm one of the few she regularly hangs out with. Kane's not a problem; he can take care of himself, plus he has more friends than I._

_Just now, we passed out of a cloudbank, and I'm positive I saw shapes denoting houses. That means we're close to landing. I'll finish this entry later…_

_Time – 10:15.28_

_I'm in my room located in the Hiwatari family mansion. Looks like Grandfather is richer than I initially thought…anyway, Grandfather said something about sending me to study here; that's why earlier today, a few hours after we landed in Moscow, Russia, he introduced me to someone named Boris Balkov. He runs this boarding school that's owned by Hiwatari Enterprises. He seemed…nice enough. He just looks creepy. Also, the school didn't look **too** bad. It was nicely lit, and the children seemed…content. Not really happy to be there, just content. Oh, well…_

_I still don't know the real reason Grandfather invited me on this trip. Maybe I'll find out tomorrow…_

_Signing out,_

_K. Hiwatari_

_

* * *

_

"_Boris_? _Nice_?" Takao spluttered upon hearing Kai's initial description of the team's most hated 'acquaintance'. "When did _that_ happen?" 

"It must have been a trick," Kyouju, ever the brains of the group, ventured. "Y'know, a trick to convince Kai to stay…"

"Yeah, well…it _still_ doesn't fit…"

"I'm sure we'll find an explanation in one of the later entries…" Rei offered, grinning. The amber-eyed blader stood up and stretched. "Do you guys mind if I stepped inside? I'm getting a little thirsty…"

Max shook his head. "Of course we don't mind, Rei. Go right ahead…" Rei nodded and sprinted towards the villa.

* * *

"_Why_?" Kai asked, trying not to show that he was incensed at what Chairman Daitouji had taken the liberty of doing. 

"It came to my attention that your teammates aren't working to their full capacities during battles-"

"What do you mean? Of _course_ they're working to their capacities!" Kai shot back, cutting the older man off. The chairman held up a hand.

"What I mean is that when you give them advice – in the form of those infamous riddles you seem so fond of – they are…rather reluctant to listen to you, so-"

"So you're saying that it's _my_ fault if they lose a battle?" Kai glowered. _How _dare_ he!_

"No, Kai. What I merely wish to point out is that perhaps if the team knew you more, they would-"

"Well, I don't want them to get _that_ close to me."

"Please, Kai." Daitouji said, sounding almost as though he were pleading. There was silence once more, if only for two minutes. Kai's eyes narrowed as he gazed at his elder. Then he let out a silent sigh and closed his eyes.

"Very well, Chairman. But don't expect me to treat them as _friends_. I told you: I only very recently met them, especially Kinomiya's older brother…" With that, Kai strode out of the living room and headed for the training room. Chairman Daitouji did nothing save gaze after the teen's retreating figure.

_Soon, you shall see my reasons, Kai…_

_

* * *

_

"Guys, I found the next entry!" Kyouju exclaimed excitedly. The others sprung up from their lying positions on the grassy lawn. They had gotten bored in the past few minutes – until Kyouju found the entry – for the next few pages had been filled with poems that no one bothered to read. 

"What's it say?" This time, Max was the first one to inquire about the nature of the entry.

"Well…" Kyouju scanned the few short paragraphs contained within the writing; his brow furrowed.

"What's wrong, Chief?" Rei asked, peering over his shoulder and staring at the graceful, looped handwriting.

"It doesn't make sense…" the bespectacled teen murmured, his voice nearly inaudible.

"_What_ doesn't make sense?" Takao asked, joining the group.

"The entry." Kyouju replied even as he reread the first paragraph.

"In what way?"

"Kai wrote this a week after his arrival in Moscow, which we learned of in the previous entry."

"Uh-huh…" Takao nodded, indicating that he wanted his friend to continue his explanation.

"But in _this_ paragraph," – here, Kyouju pointed to the second paragraph – "he says that he's been studying at Balkov Abbey for _years_, and that's he's just demolished it."

"How'd _that_ happen?" Takao looked bewildered again.

"Here. I think you better read it." Kyouju handed the journal over to Rei, who began to read aloud."

* * *

_Kai's log; Dec. 17th,_

_Time – 5:45.12 AM_

_I am currently at the train station, where I will be catching the Trans-Siberian Express. I'll be taking it as far as Vladivostok. Once there, I'll rest for a few hours, and then catch the next flight to Tokyo. I really hope all goes well; I haven't told anyone except Yuri, and he promised not to tell._

_In case you're wondering why I'm 'running away', I just did a very bad thing. Grandfather is going to kill me if he finds out what I did. I just destroyed Balkov Abbey. Using a new Beyblade called Black Dranzer. I couldn't help myself, though; it looked so powerful during the test launch. I knew the scientists at the Abbey had been working on that particular blade for years, almost as long as I've been there, and now, thanks to me, half the Abbey is gone, and most probably the blade is gone, too._

_Frankly, I'm scared. I've never traveled on my own before, but I'm afraid to tell Grandfather. I already know what he's like when he's angered, and I don't want to see that side of him. I guess I'll just have to stick it out. Hopefully, no one will notice that I'm on my own. I'll just have to make it look like I'm with someone older, but how?_

_Thankfully, I still have the birthday money Grandfather gave me a few days ago. It should last me a couple of days. Weeks, even, if I don't eat so much._

_The train's coming; I can hear it._

_Later,_

_K. Hiwatari_

_

* * *

_

"How can he have been at the Abbey for _years_ if he landed in Moscow just five days before?" Rei looked up from the journal, just as puzzled as his teammates. 

Kyouju shook his head, as though the action would help him think better. "I have absolutely _no_ idea," he said.

Max propped himself up against a tree trunk. "Maybe you read the date wrong, Rei," he suggested hopefully, smiling.

The amber-eyed teen shook his head. "Not a chance, Max." He flipped back a few pages. "The pages filled with poems? They're also dated, and each one in chronological order, each with a time progression of one day, more or less."

"I don't get it…" Takao groaned, flopping back onto the grass. "Instead of finding answers, we get more questions!"

"What if we read another entry?" Max suggested again. "Maybe there's an explanation in one of the later entries."

"You have a point there, Max…" Kyouju stated thoughtfully, taking off his glasses and meticulously cleaning them. "Rei, may have the journal back please?"

"Could you hold on a moment, Chief?" Rei asked, not taking his eyes off the journal. "I just want to finish reading this."

"What's that? A poem?" Max asked as he stood up and walked over to his friend, his interest piqued. Rei merely nodded in reply, engrossed in the writing.

"Hey, may I read?" the blonde asked, peering over the brunette's shoulder. Rei, who apparently was done reading, smiled at him and handed him the black tome.

"Sure. Here." With a finger he indicated where he ought to start reading. Max smiled his thanks, and then turned his attention to the page.

"Hey, Max, read out loud, will ya?" Takao asked. "I want to know what he wrote, too."

"Sure, no problem."

* * *

_Kai's Log; Dec. 12th,_

_Time – 02:10.45 PM_

_**Loneliness of Being**_

**_It seems like an eternity since I saw your face…  
Unknowingly I've searched for you in this God-forsaken place…  
I long to stand beside you, to protect and be protected…  
But sadly that's impossible; it began the day it ended…_**

**_You're gone; this I know I have to understand…  
Still I miss the touch of your guiding hand…  
I know that you're not truly dead, but still  
I know that you can't return, and never will…_**

**_Why did you allow this to happen, and how?  
What will happen to the rest of our lives now?  
What really made you decide to leave?  
Or is this a lie; are you hoping to deceive?_**

**_I'm trying hard not to think of it, but I still do…  
Each time, I wind up drowning in thoughts of you…  
I'll admit, it's sometimes lonely without you here…  
Often I wish you would come and take away the fear…_**

**_The fear of being lonely, when I know I can't…  
The loneliness of being without you again…  
The fear of forgetting who you really are…  
The loneliness of being so far apart…_**

_I really miss you, Dad…_

_Signing out,_

_K. Hiwatari_

_

* * *

_

"That's…deep." Max commented, handing the journal back to Kyouju. "At least, for a ten-year-old." 

"Yeah…" Takao said, once more lost in thought. _And here I thought Kai didn't express his emotions…_

"That's…so sad!" Kyouju suddenly explained, his lower lip trembling. The simplest things moved him easily; hearing the poem had been rather heart-rending for him.

"Chief, calm down…" Rei said, attempting to calm his younger teammate. "We know how you feel; the poem was…sad, to put it mildly, but we _do_ have other things to do, right?"

"Yeah, Rei…" Kyouju sniffed, then wiped his nose on his sleeve. "We still have to figure out a way to get it into Kai's room without him suspecting. Sorry about that." He smiled weakly, and then turned a few pages over, searching for a promising-looking entry.

Takao wasn't paying attention to what was happening around him, though. He was lost in his thoughts, where the lines of the poem he'd just heard kept turning around and around.

**_I long to stand beside you, to protect and be protected…_**

_He sounds so pitiful, so unlike the Kai I know now…that it seems_ impossible_ that that could be his journal…He wasn't always so strong; I can see that now…_

_**I miss the touch of your guiding hand…**_

It struck him as funny, and yet sad how weak and childlike the journal-Kai seemed. Just like his captain, Takao felt that he, too, needed someone to guide him. This someone was hard to find, especially with his father and brother constantly traveling the globe. Yes, his grandfather was a capable guardian, but he wasn't a very good counselor. Because of this, the cap-wearing blader had turned to the closest thing to an authority figure he could find: Kai.

**_To protect and be protected…_**

But now it seemed that the situation was the other way around: Kai needed _them_.

The fear of being lonely, when I know I can't… 

Takao's eyes watered; he couldn't help it. All these years, his captain had been the epitome of balance and self-control. He rarely got mad, and when he did, there was just cause. Also, he never seemed pressured, except for vital points in battles, such as the time his bit-beast was at stake. _But now…_Takao thought, _I know…_

_**The loneliness of being so far apart…**_

_Now I know he isn't as cold as he seems…_In spite of the sadness of the revelation, Takao smiled._ The detachment is just a _mask_, a defense tactic. He doesn't want to be hurt, doesn't want to be abandoned again. _

Unwittingly, Takao let his thought wander back to the first championship they had competed in, as a team. It was nearing wintertime, and they were in Russia. They had been there only a day, and Kai had gone missing. Then, they found out…

Takao's stormy blue eyes widened as he acknowledged what he'd been hiding.

_The poem!_ He realized, sitting up abruptly and gazing at the little, leather-bound book as though it were an illusion._ No wonder the poem touched me so much! I know just how Kai felt back then! _

And it was true. When the Blade Breakers found out about Kai's betrayal, none of them were as devastated as he.

_By the time the World Championships rolled around,_ Takao thought, staring at the ground so no one would see his face, _I'd felt some kind of bond with him. Even though he didn't show it much, he wanted so much for me – and all of us – to succeed. He helped us in any way he could, usually in the only way he knew how. _

_When he left us, it was as though I'd lost a brother, for that's what he was to me – in a twisted sort of way. I couldn't believe he'd really betrayed us; I prayed that it was just a dream. I couldn't even bear the thought of battling against him, not out of fear of his bit-beast, but because he was a _close friend.

"Hey, Takao, are you listening?" Kyouju asked, looking up from the journal. The blue-haired teen started.

"H-huh?" he turned to face his friends, his eyes wide. "What's that, Chief?"

The bespectacled teen sighed in exasperation. "I _said_, 'are you listening?'"

"Sorry, Chief…" Takao grinned sheepishly. "I…was just thinking of a way we could sneak that journal back to him without it noticing its disappearance. We _do_ have to do it tonight, before dinner, you know."

"Right. But we'll worry about that later, okay?" Kyouju smiled. "Right now, I think I've found another entry, but I doubt it will make sense."

"Why's that?"

"Well, its dated August 20, almost a year later-"

"Wrong, Chief," Max interrupted. He'd been staring intently at the writing, as though he were analyzing it. "See here? His handwriting's changed. That means the entry could have been written _more_ than a year later…"

"Drat!" Takao exclaimed, punching the ground with a fist. Then, resignedly, he blew a strand of hair out of his eyes. "Well, that's life: you don't always get what you want…" He grinned. "C'mon, Chief, read it!"

* * *

_Kai's Log; August 20th,_

_Time – 06:45.00 AM_

_It's been a year and six months since I've seen Grandfather. Good._

_I'm still in Japan. I've met some really nice kids who taught me the' way of the street', as they call it…I haven't run out of money yet, but I have this feeling that if I take it out, it's going to cause mayhem, so I've kept it in a safe place. For now._

_I never knew an abandoned warehouse could be so comfortable once its been fixed up. That's what Hiruta, Tsukuba, and I did to the old depot outside of town. Hiruta and Tsukuba – they're the kids I mentioned earlier. We were fast friends; its like the moment we saw each other, we hit it off right away…_

_Frankly, it can be a bit fun when you're sneaking around, looking for your next 'victim', usually those with 'fat pockets'. They're so easy to differentiate from other people around them, and they're even easier to rip off!_

_I have to go now; the guys and I are going on another money spree…_

_Signing out,_

_K. Hiwatari_

_

* * *

_

"Hiruta? Tsukuba?" Kyouju looked puzzled. "Aren't those two members of the Blade Sharks?" 

"Yeah…Maybe _that_ trio was the start of the Blade Sharks…" Takao said, leaning back on the grass.

"Y'know, you've got a point…" Kyouju rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I guess that in _this_ entry, Kai was around eleven, nearing twelve years of age." Rei said, keeping one hand on the journal. "It _did_ say 'one year and six months'…"

"Uh-huh…"

Suddenly, they heard a car pull up at the front. Takao sat up and glanced at his companions. "Who could _that_ be?" he wondered out loud.

* * *

A/N: Ooh...the visitors start arriving! This is going to be fun! 

Aki: Wonder what she does to Kai in the next chapter...

Mei: You should know what she does to Kai in the next chapter, Aki-chan! Both of us helped her write it!

Aki: Whatever...

Me: Stop squabbling, you two! You're an embarassment!

Aki: Then why do you keep us around? smirks

Me: Duh! You're my muses! I have no choice! Anyway...turns away from muses Read and review, please, everyone! God bless! Peace out!


	11. Chapter 10: The Visit

A/N: Yes! I did it! I've finished my first chapterized fanfiction! We're on vacation now, so...

Aki: Unfortunately, you don't have a home internet connection.

Me: I know! Don't remind me!

Aki: Let's just get on with the story...

Disclaimer - Me: I do not own Beyblade and its characters. Period.

* * *

**Chapter 10: The Visit**

Takao and the others rushed inside, careful not to look _too_ harried. The first thing they saw was Kai conversing quietly with Chairman Daitouji and looking agitated about something.

"Something tells me it has something to do with whoever it is that just arrived…" Kyouju whispered to the steel blue-eyed teen, who just nodded in reply.

Frankly, Takao was still astounded that in just a few short hours, he – no, _they_ – had learned more about their captain then he had told them throughout the years they'd been blading together as a team. He wondered what other secrets the stoic teen had kept from them.

Suddenly, before the group could get upstairs to return the journal – that was the plan, which they'd formulated rather quickly – the balding chairman turned and spotted them.

"Ah, young Takao and his friends." The jolly elder said, half chuckling at the looks plastered on their faces. "So good of you to join us!" he continued as he made his way over to them. Kyouju quickly hid behind Max, partly to avoid being seen and partly to be able to conceal the black journal. Fortunately, Chairman Daitouji took no notice of the bespectacled teen's actions; if he had, they would have been discovered, something they didn't want to happen while Kai was still in the room.

"What do you mean, Chairman?" Rei asked, trying to conceal his nervousness at being spotted.

"Well, I was just about to tell Kai here to go look for you. You see," he added, stroking his snow-white mustache, "I've taken the liberty of arranging a small get-together for you and a few of your friends, namely Max's mother, Shizuki Yuuya Tachibana Hiromi, and Tsubasa Kane. Oh, and Takao, your brother will be here as well."

"Why?" Max asked, speaking up even though he knew _why_ the chairman invited them.

"To make a long story short, they all hold some interesting information that will prove invaluable to your formation as a team." Daitouji replied, looking very mysterious. And then he guffawed, breaking the solemn atmosphere. "At any rate, the first guest – I'd say its young Yuuya – has arrived. If you would excuse me…" the elder turned away from the group and made his way towards the front door. There wasn't any doubt that he intended to greet the visitor and lead him towards the very room where all of Team BBA now stood.

Kyouju, having finished concealing the journal within his laptop, stepped out from behind Max. He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Kai was no longer watching them, but the front door, no doubt visible from the slate-haired teen vantage point. He motioned to the others that he was going to make a run for the stairs; Takao nodded to show he understood.

The mousy-haired teen took a deep breath, and then ran like mad across the hall and up the stairs, causing Kai to shift his focus from the front door and back to the group.

"What is Kyouju doing?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.

"He…needs to use the bathroom…" Takao said, grinning. And then he remembered that there was another bathroom downstairs as well, one that could be reached much quicker than the one upstairs. "A-and he said that he wanted to change his tie, since we're going to have company."

"I'll pretend I believe you…" Kai said, his tone one of warning, and turned back to the door that led from the main hallway to the room they were currently in.

Presently, Chairman Daitouji reentered the room, followed by a rather shy, light brown-haired teen, known by everyone as Shizuki Yuuya.

"Hey, Yuuya!" Takao was the first to speak, waving a hand in greeting. "Nice to see that you're well. Over that bout of insanity, then?" he asked, grinning as he approached the younger teen.

"Er, yeah…I recovered pretty quickly…" Yuuya said, blushing slightly upon remembering that Team BBA had witnessed his sudden spiral into madness back when he had attempted to use a cyber bit beast – Cyber Dranzer. "Thank you for the concern, Kinomiya-san."

"Anytime, Yuuya. And don't be so formal; any friend of Kai's is a friend of mine. And I'm sure the others feel the same way," he added, turning towards his companions. "Right, guys?"

"Sure!"

"Of course!"

Yuuya grinned. "Its nice to see that Kai has such good friends as his teammates!" he commented, secretly pleased at the warm welcome he had received from people who had been strangers until just moments ago.

"Yeah, well, I'm afraid the same can't be said for him…" Takao muttered. He took Yuuya's hand. "C'mon, have a seat," he said, leading the brown-haired teen to a nearby seat.

"What do you mean, Takao?" Yuuya asked, puzzled. "Kai's a very nice person! He saved me from that big thug who attacked him back when we were schoolmates!"

"I guess he felt responsible for you," Max said, coming forward. "I mean, from what I heard, you were in the same room as he was when that happened."

"But…that wasn't the only time he was nice to me…" Yuuya added, sinking back into his seat. "I know that he took very good care of me when I was only a small kid, until he had to go away because his dad had come back to get him…"

Kai whirled around when he heard Yuuya speak. His eyes narrowed. _He remembers…_

* * *

"All right…" Chairman Daitouji began as he glanced about the room. Everyone expected had already arrived five minutes ago, and they had all gathered in the living room. Takao, Rei, Max, and Kyouju all sat on the rather large, overstuffed couch near the bay window. Yuuya sat with them, since he wasn't familiar with the other people in the room. Hiromi sat on a plush armchair placed at right angles to the couch, and Kane sat opposite from her, on an identical armchair. Judy Mizuhara sat on a straight-backed wooden chair with a blue cushion, and Kinomiya Hitoshi sat on a cushioned, backless chair with wheels on the bottom. Kai was in the far corner of the room, leaning against the wall in his usual manner.

"Since we're all here, I suggest we go straight to the heart of the matter." The balding chairman said, smiling good-naturedly. Everyone – except for Kai – nodded in agreement.

"All right, that sounds good, Chairman," Judy said, standing up. "_Why_, exactly, were we called here?"

"Glad you asked, Judy." The elder said, grinning. "It all has something to do with young Kai here," he gestured towards the slate-haired teen.

"And what's that, sir?" Kane asked, looking puzzled.

"You see, Kane, Kai's secrets have been kept locked up for far too long, in my opinion, and this fact has, in effect, hindered the formation of Takao and his friends as a team under his leadership. They don't know much about him aside from the fact that he 'grew up' training in Balkov Abbey. However, as they are about to find out, those years of his life were spent quite differently; that he grew up in the Abbey is about to be proved false…and all of you are going to help do just that."

"Huh?" Hiromi looked puzzled. _What is Chairman Daitouji talking about?_ He glanced at Takao out of the corner of her eye. To her surprise, the brunette showed no signs of surprise at what the balding elder said. She raised a slim brown eyebrow, even more confused. _And why does Takao seem to know exactly what the chairman means?_

"So, who's going to start?" Hitoshi asked. He glanced around at his companions, expecting one of them to go first. The blue-haired young adult _still _didn't know where this was going, and he wasn't about to go and make a fool of himself by talking about something he didn't know.

"I though we'd start with his social worker, and after that, the one teen among you who knew Kai during his toddler years."

"Who would _that_ be?" Hiromi asked, glancing around the room as well. From what she knew of social workers, they had to be adults, and the only adults she saw in the room with them were Max's mom and the chairman. _Could Daitouji-sama_ _have been Kai's social worker?_

"Judy, would you kindly do the honors?"

"_JUDY_?" almost everyone in the room exploded; yes, even the members of Team BBA. They knew that Judy had been Kai's social worker, but they were shocked that _Chairman Daitouji_ knew as well. How could he have?

Judy smiled gracefully and bowed, the customary sign of humble acceptance. "Very well…"

The blonde woman bent down and retrieved several files from the small briefcase she had brought with her. She took a deep breath, cleared her throat, and then began.

"This may come as a bit of a surprise to you," she said, glancing at the young people in front of her and smiling. "But I wasn't always a scientist. In fact, quite some time ago, I applied for a job as a social worker. Applied science didn't interest me very much; when I was younger, I was more interested in kids, having one of my own," here she paused and glanced at Max, who beamed. "At any rate, I got the job at Sento-Daitouji Juvenile Hall."

"Hang on," Kane suddenly interrupted. "You just said, 'Sento-_Daitouji_ Juvenile Hall'. Does that mean, Chairman Daitouji wasn't _always_ the chairman of the BBA?"

The jolly elder answered for Judy, chuckling slightly as he did so. "Of course not, dear boy. You have to 'rise through the ranks' before becoming chairman of any association. I wasn't always involved with Beyblading, but I _was_ always involved with kids. That's why I founded a juvenile center; it's under new management now, though, and isn't under my name anymore."

"Err, all right…" Kane said, still uncertain. He leaned back into his seat, and the chairman nodded at Judy to continue.

"Moving on…my first _real_ job as social worker came around thirteen years ago. My charge – the one I was responsible for – was the teen you all know now as Hiwatari Kai."

"WHAT?" At that last statement, all the teens in the room, except for Team BBA, practically jumped out of their seats.

"You mean…you knew Kai since he was a toddler?" Hiromi asked, gesturing wildly.

Judy only smiled and nodded. "He was only five at that time, but he showed incredible emotional strength for his age. Despite what he had gone through in his young life, he rebounded quite quickly. In fact, he and Max hit it off from Day One."

This fact caused even more of an uproar. It was a well-known fact among the blading teams worldwide that Kai and Max didn't exactly get along.

"What do you mean they 'hit it off'?" Kane exclaimed, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Look at them! They…they're complete opposites."

"On the contrary, Kane," Judy said, reaching once more into her briefcase. "Kai was the exact opposite of what he is now; he was just like any other kid his age. Here, I have pictures to prove it." She handed the blue-haired Australian several glossy photos.

Max gave an involuntary gasp as he caught a glimpse of the photographs. "Hey! Those are the – mph!" He got cut off as a hand clamped firmly over his mouth, courtesy of Takao.

The navy-haired teen leaned over and whispered in his friend's ear. "Max, remember that we're not supposed to know about the pictures?"

Max grinned apologetically. "Oops, my bad…" Aloud, he said, "Hey, Kane, can _we_ see those?" and he held out a hand to receive the photos.

Kane smiled a small smile and passed two of the pictures to the golden-haired teen. "Sure, Max. Here. Oh, by the way," he added, his smile growing mischievous. "You look absolutely adorable in those pictures." He winked, and then turned and sat down. Upon sitting, the Australian glanced at Kai, who still stood in the corner. This time, however, the slate-haired teen wasn't acting uninterested in the goings-on in the room; instead, he was glaring at everyone, more disturbing than not being interested. Kane shuddered.

Takao and the others pretended to look surprised at the pictures, which were just copies of those they had found in Kai's file.

Hiromi, who was holding several photos herself, was practically squealing with delight. "Oh. My. Gosh!" she exclaimed, wringing her hands excitedly. "I don't believe it! He looks SO cute as a kid." She stopped and then half-turned to get the older version in her line of sight. "Not to imply that he's not cute _now…_" she said to herself and anyone else who might happen to hear.

Judy smiled and approached the auburn-haired girl. "You like him, don't you?" she asked, laying a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. Hiromi started and whirled around.

"Wh-what do you mean?" she asked, blushing slightly.

"Don't worry, there's nothing to be ashamed of," Judy said, patting her shoulder. "Crushes are perfectly all right; in fact, something tells me you've never been able to get him out of your mind ever since the first day you met him, around ten years ago, correct?"

"Ten years?" Hiromi was aghast. "I didn't meet him _that_ long ago! I met him only two, three years before!"

"Are you sure?" Judy gently took the photos from the girl, and sifted through them until she found what she was looking for. She handed them back to Hiromi, telling her, "Take a look at the top photo; I think you'll see what I mean."

Hiromi obliged. And promptly gasped. "Waitaminnit! That's _me_!"

At the brunette's mention of her inclusion in a picture, the others quickly rushed to surround her.

"Hey, let me see!"

"Ouch! You stepped on my foot!

"Quit pushing!"

Kai shook his head. Most of the occupants in the room were already old enough to be considered young adults, but they were still acting like children. He glanced around; the only ones who didn't participate in the stampede were Hitoshi and the two adults.

Even though Takao and his companions were confident that they had seen all the photos in the file, they realized they hadn't seen one that had Hiromi in it, and so had joined in.

Suddenly, it was Kane who gave a cry of surprise. "Hang on! That's me right there, next to…Kai! And that kid…hey, that's-" he glanced at Yuuya, who was sort of trapped between him and Hiromi; it looked like an uncomfortable position. Kane shifted a bit to give the younger teen some more room to move. "That's… he glanced at Yuuya, who was sort of trapped between him and Hiromi; it looked like an uncomfortable position. Kane shifted a bit to give the younger teen some more room to move. "Yuuya?"

Yuuya nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I know; that's me."

"You saw it, too?"

"I not only saw it, I remember it as well." The light brown-haired teen said.

"What?"

"Children!" Chairman Daitouji cut in, gesturing with his hands and inadvertently swinging his cane around as well. "I suggest we all sit down and let Judy finish her part of the story."

Everyone calmed down after that. Judy got up from her seat once more and picked up her papers. The photographs remained with those who had held them last. Kai went back to leaning against the wall.

"Well, now that you've all seen the photos, do you recognize any of the people in them?" she asked, knowing full well the response she'd receive.

"They're us!" Hiromi said, her hand shooting into the air even though she wasn't in a classroom.

"Precisely. That's why you're all here. Apart from Max, Team BBA knows almost nothing about Kai, a factor that hinders their trust in him. He's the only one they don't know intimately right now, and since he is their captain, he can't allow their mistrust to continue. You all spent some time with Kai before, whether you remember it or not. If you can't recall those times, I'm here to help; if you _do_, well, then, good." Judy took another deep breath. "Now, as I was saying, Kai here stayed at my house for a rather long time, partly because we were trying to reach his father the whole time and partly because we couldn't place him. We couldn't leave him at the juvenile hall proper; most of the occupants were _years_ older than he, so I volunteered my house. That's how Kai came to know Max." She turned to her son. "Max, do you remember anything?"

"Well, not really..."

"Come on; just try..." Judy urged. Max scrunched up his face in concentration (they have to act like they don't know, remember?). Suddenly, his eyes shot open.

"Wait...I remember...when I showed him my room..."

"Whoa! You remember something _that_ far back?" Hitoshi leaned forward, suddenly interested.

Max nodded. He couldn't very well say that he'd had to recall it only the night before, because to do so would incur 'Kai's Wrath', as the team privately called it. He shrugged. "Mom says I have incredible memory. I can remember stuff that happened when I was four and older, but only bits and pieces…"

"Oh."

"Go on, Max," Hiromi urged, anxious to hear more. "What happened when you showed Kai your room?"

"Well, I don't remember much except that there was this one toy he seemed to like better than the rest. I said I'd give it to him as a 'welcome gift' or something like that…Anyway, I can't remember whether he accepted it or not."

"I should think not." Kai said, suddenly joining in the discussion. "I don't remember a stupid stuffed bird…"

Max grinned in triumph. "A-ha!" he exclaimed, his eyes dancing. "You remember, don't you?" he pointed a finger at his team captain.

"Of course I-" Kai started, and then trailed off when he realized his mistake. He hid his face in one hand. "_Baka_…" he muttered.

Judy smiled. _At least that shows he's getting some of his memory back…_she thought happily. Her gaze wandered off as she recalled what Chairman Daitouji had told her before she went off to America to begin her work as a Beyblade researcher. To Max, she said, "Anything else?"

"Well, also the time you asked me to help you cook fried chicken-"

"Speaking of which," Takao cut in, waving his hand in the air. "Mr. Daitouji, when's dinnertime? It's getting pretty late." The brunette was right; outside, the sky was already turning a deep shade of purple, a sign that nighttime was not too far off.

The elder chuckled. "Not to worry, Takao. I've asked several caterers to come here at around half past six."

"Oh, okay." Takao sat down in relief, and then glanced at his friend. "Sorry 'bout that, Max. What were you saying?"

Max grinned to show he understood, and then continued his narrative. "Anyway, Mom asked me to help her with dinner – fried chicken. She called Kai, too. Everything was fine until she turned on the stove. Well, Kai practically freaked out-"

"No, I didn't." For the second time that day, Kai tried to correct his blonde teammate. "I don't 'freak out', Max. You should know that."

"Wait." Kane leaned forward in his seat. "Did you just say that Kai freaked out because of the stove?"

Max nodded. "Uh-huh. He said that he was…" Max trailed off. "What was that word again?"

"Pyrophobic?" Judy asked, helpfully supplying the word her son was looking for.

Max smiled appreciatively at his mother. "Yeah, that's the word. Thanks, Mom."

"Kai was afraid of _fire_?" It was Yuuya's turn to be surprised. After all, he claimed to be the slate-haired teen's 'number one fan'. "But…that's his bit beast's _element_! _How_ can he afraid of fire?"

Judy shook her head. "I'm afraid that's something Max and I can't divulge, Yuuya. That information is classified, and I can't do anything unless I am given permission by the subject in question."

"Oh. I understand…"

"Max, can you remember anything else?" the balding chairman asked the young teen; Max shook his head again.

"I'm sorry; I really can't remember anything else…"

"If that's the case, I suppose we should move on to the person who knew him next."

"That would be me, right?" Yuuya asked as he stood up.

"Wha-?" Hitoshi was surprised. This was getting weirder by the minute. _How did Yuuya know that it was _his_ turn?_

"Well, I know that I had this…surrogate brother when I was younger; I was only around three when Kai joined us." Yuuya began, looking pointedly at the older teen, who refused to make eye contact. "Mom told me that he was staying with us only temporarily, until 'the center' could contact his dad."

"His _dad_?" Hiromi suddenly interrupted. "So you mean to say that Kai's parents are still alive!"

"His mother isn't alive anymore," Chairman Daitouji replied, reaching into a pocket for his handkerchief. "As for his father…we have yet to see."

"Err…all right…that helps…I guess." Hiromi leaned back against the cushions and crossed her arms over her chest. "Sorry…Yuuya, is it?" she asked, glancing at the brown-haired teen for confirmation.

"_Hai_." Yuuya nodded his head, took a deep breath, and continued. "Well, I guess 'the center' couldn't contact Kai's dad that time; he stayed with us until he was in the third grade…"

"And do you remember anything from that time, Yuuya?" Daitouji prompted, gazing at the teen expectantly.

"Um…I think so…"

"Good. What is it?"

Yuuya was silent for a few moments. Suddenly, he glanced towards Hitoshi. "It was you! You were the one!"

The older Kinomiya brother looked puzzled. "Wh-what are you talking about?" He asked, pointing to himself. "What do you mean I was 'the one'?"

"You were the one who helped Kai when he was in trouble in school!" Yuuya said, his eyes dancing with excitement.

"'Trouble'?" Kane asked. "What sort of…trouble?"

"There was this kid…Dunga-"

"Dunga?" Hiromi shot up out of her seat. She glanced at Takao. "Wasn't _that_ the name of the guy who kept trying to battle Kai before?"

Takao nodded vigorously, for once managing to look as surprised as his companions. For the past five minutes, he had been trying – unsuccessfully- to react as naturally as possible; he didn't want to give away the fact that he already knew what the 'guests' were going to say.

"Yeah…don't tell me there are _two_ Dungas!" Max was a bit more verbal in his 'reactions'; it _was_ in his nature to make comments once in a while, so it was definitely his style.

"Anyway…Hitoshi-san," Yuuya continued, despite the interruption. "You helped Kai when he got into a fight, _after_ Kai stopped Dunga from bullying one of his classmates."

"_Sou da ne…_" Hitoshi looked thoughtful. _Was this true?_

Kyouju, Kai noticed, was busy typing away at his laptop, looking for all the world as though he were transcribing the statements he and his companions were hearing; Rei, who couldn't think of what to do so as not to look bored, was busy 'reading' over his mousy-haired companion's shoulder.

Kai, however, felt that his teammates were being a bit _too_ shocked or surprised. His eyes narrowed as he eyed each one of them. Breathing slowly and shallowly so as not to draw attention, he approached the couch silently until he was directly in back of Kyouju. Then he saw it: the bespectacled teen wasn't transcribing data, as he first thought; he was hacking into a foreign database.

The slate-haired teen did a double take. _What was that I just saw?_ He thought, quickly scanning the computer screen. _Hang on…that language…it's Russian! What Kyouju would want with a Russian database, I've no…wait!_ Kai read the words on the screen, translating quickly from what he knew – and it was a lot – of the Russian language. _That's…the Biovolt database from a few years back! _Kai realized, his eyes widening slightly. _The one wherein they keep all the information on their experiments and other operations! Why would he_…

Kai's eyes narrowed again. _Unless_…

The crimson-eyed blader took a deep breath, and then spoke. "Chairman Daitouji, if I may speak?"

"Ah, Kai…" the jolly elder acknowledged the young captain. "Of course you may speak. Have you anything to add to young Yuuya's story?"

Kai shook his head, smirking slightly. He had caught them! They had read the file the night before! He knew it now. "Unfortunately, no. But I _do_ know that you've invited these people-" here he gestured towards the visitors – "all for naught. My teammates already _know_ everything there is to know about me before I met them."

"Really?" Daitouji looked puzzled, but he didn't glance at Kai; he was glancing at the seated members of Team BBA, all of whom looked rather fidgety. "And how do you know this?"

Kai reached down and took the laptop from Kyouju, who let out a small 'eep' and scooted over to the farthest side of the couch. Kai turned the laptop around so that everyone could see what was on-screen, and started to explain. "I spotted Kyouju attempting to hack into a database; this _Biovolt_ database, to be exact. The only reason I can think of that they would be looking for information in a Russian database is that they somehow managed to pilfer the file – which I requested – from my room, and read it." In one fluid movement, he snapped the laptop shut and handed it back to the bespectacled researcher. "I actually spotted them with it in the corridor last night, but I was stupid enough to believe their alibi."

"Busted…" Takao grimaced; he slumped back in his seat, hand over his face.

"Great…" Rei groaned. "Now we're going to get it…"

"Oh, boy…" Kyouju muttered, taking off his spectacles and cleaning them with a handkerchief. Only Max kept silent.

"You _know_ what happened to Kai when he was younger?" Hiromi asked, playing with several loose strands of hair."

Takao nodded slowly. "Yeah…we do…unfortunately." The stormy-eyed teen was afraid to look up for fear that he would lock gazes with his no-doubt fuming captain.

"Then can you _please_ explain _why_ I was in a photo with him?" the auburn-haired teen. "I certainly don't remember meeting him ten years before!"

"Sorry to tell you this, Hiromi…" Max said, turning towards the ruby-eyed girl. "But you _did_ meet him when you were younger."

"No way!" Hiromi's eyes were wide.

Rei nodded, smiling. "Yup, you met him when he was around…third grade."

"He even gave you a 'welcome to school' gift, and _you_ gave_ him_ an origami bird." Takao added, remembering what they had read in the file.

"But I-" Hiromi began, but Kyouju cut her off.

"We know. You don't remember," the bespectacled teen said. Pushing his glasses up, he opened up his laptop again and accessed a file he had no doubt downloaded from the database he had accessed earlier. "That's because you're memory's been modified."

"Huh?" Everyone, including Kai, was surprised.

"Modified?" Hiromi asked, cocking her head to one side.

Kyouju nodded. "See, we, erm…read this portion of the file that said that Kai had gone to Russia for a family vacation for one week. The juvenile center knew only that Kai was with his grandfather; there was no word on whether his father was with them or not. So for that one week, the center was unable to 'keep tabs' on him. Right?" he turned to the chairman for confirmation.

The kindly old man nodded. "So you figured it out," He said, smiling; it wasn't a question, but a statement of fact.

Kyouju grinned. "Err…yeah. And then, Kai was suddenly back in Tokyo, less than a week after he had left! However, when one of the center's employees checked up on him, it was as though he had forgotten everything that happened over the past few years – namely, the friends he had made and the time he had spent in Tokyo. Kai, at that point, believed that he had lived in Moscow for a couple of years, and had been trained at Balkov Abbey."

"So…he's never had any official training in Beyblading before, until he became your team captain?" Hitoshi asked.

"How'd you figure that out, Chief?" Max asked, glancing at his friend. The blonde teen certainly didn't recall reading _that_ in the file.

"Well, it's all here in the file I downloaded from Biovolt," Kyouju replied. "Through it, I found out that Kai's memory had been modified, and the 'missing' parts replaced with programmed memories that Souchirou had chosen to be 'installed' into his grandson's brain. Among these were those of his 'training' in the abbey, and the scene wherein he destroyed half of the building when he launched Black Dranzer."

"So…he didn't _actually_ destroy Balkov Abbey?" Again, it was Hitoshi who spoke.

Kyouju nodded again. "Of course, this was all done while he was sleeping. And then, they placed him in a special room that was programmed to 'come to life' when he woke up. When he did, his surroundings changed somehow, and what he saw was a half-destroyed abbey, and beside him was Black Dranzer. At that point, the programmed memories kicked in, and Kai thought that what he saw was real. Then, being the child he was back then, his first instinct was to run, which he did. He returned here, to Tokyo, and I think we all know the story from there."

"So, some of his basic training in blading…" Hitoshi mused, "was actually programmed into him somehow, and the rest Kai worked out on his own…"

"Exactly!" the researcher said, beaming.

"Remarkable!" Chairman Daitouji exclaimed, mopping his brow with his handkerchief. "We at 'the center' had been trying to find out – unsuccessfully, I might add – why such a drastic change had occurred in Kai's personality for _years_, while you discovered the reason in so short a time."

"Um, Chairman?" Hitoshi cut in respectfully. "Can we get back to the subject at hand? Even if this is all true, I still don't see why Kane, Hiromi, and I remember ever knowing Kai until we met him pretty recently."

"Like I said, Hitoshi, your memories were modified, too." Kyouju said, looking up at the older teen.

"But-"

"Let me explain," Kyouju began, bringing up a second part of the downloaded file. "Souchirou had Balkov keep track of Kai as he made his way back to Japan. While Kai was still on the Trans-Siberian Express, Balkov had you, Yuuya, Kane, and Hiromi kidnapped while you were asleep. The memory modification takes only a few minutes, and so you guys were returned to your homes that same night, without anyone noticing."

"What about Max?" Hiromi asked, gesturing towards the blonde blader. "And Dunga? Why weren't _their_ memories modified, too?"

"I guess Souchirou didn't know that Max had been Kai's friend, and Dunga…" Kyouju looked thoughtful. "Perhaps they couldn't track him down."

"But how do we know that the 'Dunga' Yuuya referred to was the _same_ Dunga you guys encountered before we met?" Kane asked.

"Yuuya, can you remember how Kai described him?"

"Um…he said that he was big for his age, with…dirty blonde hair and a…real ugly smile, or something like that…"

"Yup. That's him all right…" Takao said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Wait…" Rei sat up straight as he remembered something. "If Dunga's memory wasn't modified…then how come he doesn't remember Kai from school."

"I don't think he was paying attention to the kids he fought…" Max mused. "I mean, he doesn't seem the type to have much intelligence…"

"You have a point there…" Kyouju said. "That part, too, has been puzzling me, but I guess we can leave it at that…"

"I still don't get it, though…" Hiromi said, glancing back at Team BBA. "If we all underwent memory modification, how come _Yuuya_ still remembers Kai?"

"I'm not sure, but I think it has something to do with his bout of insanity back when we met Team Psykick…" Kyouju said, adjusting his glasses again. "Prior to his mental break down, Yuuya only knew of Kai as a close acquaintance. Apparently, what happened to his brain somehow overrode the modification, and he began to recall those 'early days' with Kai, where the latter was more of an elder brother…of course, that's just _my_ theory."

"Theory or not, it makes sense…"

"Wait. Max didn't undergo…_that_, but how come he _didn't_ remember Kai when they met again at the regional finals?" Rei asked.

Max spoke up. "Now _that_, I can explain. The Kai I knew was _very_ different from the Kai I battled in the semi-finals; I didn't associate them as one person, even though they looked very similar…"

"Well, it was a…change in personality that led you to believe it was a different Kai?" Kyouju asked. Max nodded. "I see."

Suddenly, the doorbell chimed; everyone froze upon hearing the sound. Chairman Daitouji, however, got up. "I believe those are the caterers I hired," he explained, grinning. "If you'll excuse me…" the elderly chairman made his way to front hall, leaving the teens quite by themselves.

"So…what now?" Kane said, glancing around at his companions. "I mean…since Takao and the others already know about Kai, I see no reason why we should stay…"

"Kane, perhaps you should wait," Hitoshi said, ever the elder brother and voice of reason. "Maybe there's another reason why the chairman invited us here."

"If you say so…" the dark blue-haired Australian looked sullen, but he settled in his seat.

"But don't you think it was a bit _too_ much, though?" Hiromi asked, looking thoughtful as she processed everything she had learned in the past hour or so they had been in the room; she was still trying to come to terms that the crush she was having right now was actually an extension of a childhood crush ten years ago. "I mean, couldn't they have just modified Kai's memory and have been done with it, instead of kidnapping and modifying the memories of all his childhood friends as well?"

"Glad you noticed, Hiromi…" Kyouju said, beaming. "Apparently, Souchirou knew that if you hadn't undergone memory modification, one of you would have somehow jeopardized their plan, which was initially to get Kai to work for his grandfather to collect the four bit beasts. To him, your relationships with him were…well, distractions or obstacles, so he went right ahead and got rid of them."

"But I'm still curious," Hiromi went on, thanking Kyouju with a slight nod of her head. She turned her attention to Kai, who was still standing quietly by the couch. "Kai, how about you tell us what happened before your trip to Russia. Since you obviously remember your younger days now, maybe you could open up a little bit more?" She got up and made her way over to the slate-haired teen. "Chairman Daitouji is right; it isn't fair for you to expect your teammates to trust you if they know almost nothing about you." She laid a hand on the slightly older teen's shoulder. "It's not just your teammates who want to know you, Kai…" she added, looking at the floor and blushing slightly. "I, too, want to know what happened to you to make you what you are now. I mean, you didn't destroy the abbey; it never happened. Something _else_ caused you to be like this, and we want to know."

Kai was taken aback. Hiromi had never acted this way towards him before. He frowned; for some strange reason, he felt compelled to tell her what had happened between his two elders – Souchirou and Yuuhi. But could he?

He sighed and closed his eyes. His teammates had already read of his 'childhood tragedy' – his mother, the harsh treatment, the release, etc. After a few more moments, he opened his eyes again. "I'm sorry, Hiromi, but…no, I can't tell you about _that_ part of my life."

"What! Why?" Hiromi prodded, grasping his hand. "I mean, you didn't stop the others when they shared what they knew of you! Why are you holding back?"

"It's just…" Kai closed his eyes again and sighed heavily. "I'd like to forget what happened back then…it's…too painful to recall…"

"Oh." Hiromi dropped her gaze. She wasn't about to push Kai just to satisfy her curiosity.

Meanwhile, Max and the others exchanged glances. They had never heard Kai speak like that to _anyone_ before. What had happened?

Takao, however, could tell what Kai was referring to: the day his father had been disowned. He glanced at his captain and noticed that he was looking rather strained. No doubt he was rebelling against himself. After all, he had an image to protect, and breaking down in front of others would _definitely_ not help.

Takao looked down and sighed. Only time would tell whether or not Kai was ready to finally open up to them, _willingly_.

Judy took in the scene and smiled. _Kai is definitely changing…_she thought happily. _He's finally acknowledging his emotions; specifically those regarding his father…_Suddenly, she frowned. _Now if only everything goes according to plan…then we'll see if Kai is ready to move on and accept the past…_

Chairman Daitouji peeked in from the back door. "Everyone, the caterers are here. They've set up the buffet outside, in the garden."

"Woo-hoo!" Takao jumped up, pumping his fist in the air. "Food! Finally!" The eager teen rushed towards the door, uttering a quick 'thank you' to the chairman as he zoomed past.

"Well, if you'd kindly follow me…" Daitouji added, gesturing towards the door. There was no need for him to say any more; in a few moments, everyone was out in the garden.

* * *

"Excuse me, Kyouju, I'd like to ask you something," Judy said. The bespectacled teen looked up from his plate, somewhat shocked.

Kyouju had elected not to sit with his 'usual crowd' and instead, he shared a table with Hitoshi, Yuuya, Judy, and the chairman. He found the atmosphere at this particular table quite relaxed that night, compared to if he had sat with Team BBA; he was sure _that_ table would be rather…tense, after what happened, what with their 'confession' and all that. He had been wondering what Kai would do to his teammates when Judy interrupted his thoughts. He gave Max's mom an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Judy; I didn't quite hear you."

The blonde woman smiled kindly. "No, that's quite all right," she said, gesturing as though waving the incident away. "Anyway, you showed remarkable propensity in dealing with the psychological part of Kai's story – the memory modification and all that."

Kyouju could feel his cheeks heating up. "Th-thanks…" he murmured. Judy smiled and continued.

"So…you no doubt know by now that I was still involved in Kai's case even though I became a Beyblade researcher?" Kyouju nodded. "Well, perhaps you could tell me your insights as to why Kai acted the way he did when Yuuya suffered from temporary insanity after handling Cyber Dranzer? Because it seems to me he acted as an elder brother would have, even though there is no evidence at that time that Kai began to remember the time he spent with Yuuya and the relationship they had."

Hearing his name mentioned, Yuuya glanced over at the mousy-haired researcher, curious.

Kyouju gulped down some of his soda pop and nodded vigorously. "I'd be happy to!"

By this time, all ears at their table had turned over to Kyouju, making him feel a little uncomfortable because of all the attention; however, he steeled himself by taking a deep breath and began.

"Please note that this is only a theory of mine," he said, pushing his plate away so he could lean on the tabletop, "but I have reason to believe that Kai behaved that way because he in some way felt responsible for Yuuya's insanity, even though we know that that wasn't the case. Also, even though memories may be suppressed, instinct and habits – especially those acquired while one is young – once triggered, are almost impossible to restrain. Thus, even though he had no recollection of his days with Yuuya, upon seeing him 'brought down', so to speak, Kai reacted on _instinct_."

"Wow…" Yuuya whispered, his mouth hanging open. "Never thought about it that way…"

"Uh, yeah…Kyouju, what was Yuuya talking about back in there?" Hitoshi asked, his face a mask of confusion. "And what does this guy…Dunga have to do with anything?"

"Oh, _that_…" Kyouju swallowed a mouthful of bean curd and began to explain. "You see, you and Kai were schoolmates long ago…"

* * *

"Uh-oh," Takao said, leaning over to whisper in Max's ear. "Look who's coming…"

The blonde teen quickly glanced over his shoulder; Kai, who had just come from the buffet table, was coming their way. He whirled back around, and groaned. "_Now_ we're gonna get it…"

"Get what?" Hiromi looked up from her plate, and spotted Kai. She looked back down. "Oh. That…" she glanced across the table at Takao and smiled mischievously. "Well, better you than me…"

"Shut up…"

In what seemed a split second, Kai was already at their table, and he had just set his plate down. Glancing around, he spied an empty chair nearby; he pulled it towards him and sat down.

For a few moments, no one moved or spoke; the atmosphere was very tense, indeed.

Takao glanced at his captain; Kai glanced back at him, but said nothing.

Takao blinked in surprise. He thought that he had prepared himself to deal with any of the slate-haired teen's reaction, but he certainly hadn't counted on _not_ getting a reaction. Boy, this was difficult…

Takao glanced at his lap, fiddling with his fingers. "Uh, Kai…about your juvenile center file…" he began.

"We're really sorry that we took and read it without your permission," Max finished. Rei and Kyouju, having nothing to else to say, nodded in agreement.

Kai leaned back in his chair, glancing at each one of them in turn. "Whatever…" he said; his voice was gruff, but his face was nonchalant, which led Max and the others to believe that he wasn't feeling any hostility towards them for what they had done.

The tension at their table having been broken, Takao began to devour the food on his plate.

Across from him, Kai cringed inwardly at his teammate's eating habits, but chose to ignore it instead of commenting on it. He, too, picked up his fork and ate; however, his mind was elsewhere. He hadn't admitted it, but it _was_ true; he was beginning to remember his childhood. He didn't know when he had started to remember, but he knew that it had begun shortly after his team had battled in the Justice Five Tournament. He put down the eating utensils for a while and glanced around at the other guests. It was good, he supposed, to see old friends again, but…

He sighed. There was something missing, and it seemed he'd never find it.

Suddenly, from up the driveway came a rumbling sound, as though of a car approaching. Daitouji got up.

"Oh, my…now who could _that_ be?" he wondered out loud. He turned the other guests. "Just stay here, everyone, and I'll attend to whoever it is that has just arrived." With that, the rather rotund elder started off down the garden path.

* * *

"Well, _there_ you are!" Chairman Daitouji called out as he neared the late visitor. "I was beginning to think you'd _never_ come!"

A rather tall, dark-haired man stepped from the nondescript light blue car and closed the door. He chuckled.

"Really, sir, you underestimate me. I wouldn't miss this gathering for the world!"

Daitouji smiled. "Glad to hear it. Now, if you would follow me…"

* * *

A/N: Hehe..._another_ cliffie!

Mei: You seem to be doing that a lot, lately...

Aki: Doesn't _everyone_? rolls eyes

Me: Don't mind them...anyway, let me know what you think. However, I'm really sorry to inform everyone that this is the next-to-last chapter in this fic...I might write a sequel, but I'd have to come up with a story...

God bless!


	12. Epilogue: Reunited!

A/N: Okay, since this is the last chapter (and I still need to take care of something else...), I'll go directly to the story...

Disclaimer: Do pigs fly? I don't think so.

* * *

**Epilogue: Reunited!**

"Who do you think just arrived?" Takao asked in between mouthfuls of ramen.

"Ah, it's probably just an employee of the BBA to deliver something to the chairman," Kai said. A few minutes earlier, the slate-haired teen had finished eating. In fact, everyone at their table, save Takao, was already done with dinner; the brunette had gone back to the buffet table for a second helping…of _everything_, as he was wont to do.

"Kai may be right…" Max said. "I mean, Chairman Daitouji _did_ say that everyone was here already…"

Suddenly, Kai glanced towards the back door; he had heard voices – one of them was the chairman's and the other one…

Crimson orbs narrowed. The other voice, a man's, sounded strangely familiar. He quickly pushed his chair away from the table and got up, surprising the other occupants, and several at the nearby table.

"Kai?" Hiromi called after him as she watched the stoic team captain stride over to the back door.

Kai pretended not to hear. Hiromi turned to Takao and the others.

"What's with him?"

Max and Rei shrugged, while Takao replied with a more than a little muffled 'I dunno…'

Kai approached the back door, which was slightly ajar. He could hear the voices more clearly now; he _definitely_ recognized the second voice. He pushed open the door…and stood stock-still.

"_Now_ what's he doing?" Takao said, pushing away his half-eaten plate, having noticed the slate-haired teen freeze in the doorway. He got up from the table, and the others – Max, Rei, Hiromi, and Kyouju – followed suit. Hitoshi, Yuuya, Judy, and Kane remained in their seats.

Kai, who still wasn't moving, opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

It was _him_. It had to be. Everything – the rather floppy black hair, the strong jaw, the crimson eyes – was as he remembered. Was this just a dream? He shook his head, as though to clear his vision, but when he opened his eyes, _he_ was still there.

It was only at that moment the man who was conversing with the chairman seemed to notice the slate-haired teen, and turned towards him. Crimson eyes lit up with joy, and a smile came to the older man's lips.

"Kai…"

It was only one word – his name, in fact – but Kai came out of his 'trance'.

"It's…it's you…" he said, still not quite able to comprehend.

The tall brunette took one step towards him; Kai did not move. "Yes, its me, Kai…you still recognize me, after all these years and what happened to you?" the newcomer was saying.

Kai took one step towards the stranger. "Yeah, I do…what are you doing here, anyway?"

"Now, Kai, Yuuhi is here as my guest, just like your other friends." Chairman Daitouji said, laying a hand on 'Yuuhi's' shoulder.

"Yuuhi…why does that name sound familiar?" Takao said, scratching his head. The other guests, upon seeing Kai start towards the back door, had followed moments later and had gathered around the threshold, watching the drama unfold within.

"I don't know…" Max shrugged. "But you're right; it _does_ sound familiar…"

"Dad…" he said quietly, taking another step forward. He tried hard not to show any emotion on his face, but deep inside, the questions were welling up. With each step he took, another question came to the surface.

_Why did you leave me?_

_Why couldn't you just leave your dream?_

_Why did you make me suffer all these years?_

_Why did you allow Grandfather to _make_ you suffer?_

_Why couldn't you come back for me?_

_Why didn't you just stay away?_

Finally, Kai couldn't take it anymore. He had to know. "Why?" he asked quietly, his eyes hidden by his slate-gray bangs. Yuuhi looked puzzled.

"Excuse me?" the older Hiwatari took a tentative step towards the crimson-eyed teen.

"Why did you do it?" Kai suddenly burst forth. Yuuhi stepped back, surprised at the wealth of passion he could see in his son's eyes. Even those watching could feel the emotions emanating from the once-stoic teen, and they were overwhelmed at what they could feel.

Sorrow.

Fury.

Hurt.

Confusion.

Yuuhi blinked, and then closed the distance between him and Kai. But the latter would have none of it; he backed off a little, making it clear to his father that he could come no closer. Yuuhi sighed.

"Kai, I-"

"I know, Dad…you're sorry it had to happen, that you had to leave me, etcetera… You don't need to explain…" Kai said, his voice quieter now; not a hint of sarcasm could be found. He looked up at the man he had known as father, taking deep breaths, but didn't say anything more.

Hiromi pushed her way to the front and into the hallway, but it wasn't as though she were being rude; Takao and Max let her go ahead. She glanced at Kai and gasped, not quite able to believe what she was seeing.

Tears. Small, crystalline streams of emotion, running gently down the teen's face, issuing forth from hitherto lifeless crimson pools.

_Kai was crying_!

"No way!" Takao breathed.

"Am I seeing things?" Max said, rubbing his eyes. "Nope, definitely not," he muttered as he looked up again to find the same scene.

"Oh, dear…" Judy murmured, putting a hand over her mouth. She had expected something of the sort as a reaction from Kai – the initial confusion, and then the overwhelming joy that was typical of long-overdue reunions – but this…Judy shook her head; _this_ much emotion from the young man was…in a word, unexpected.

"Kai…" Hiwatari Yuuhi could do nothing but reach for his 'little boy' and enfold him in an embrace. And, for the first time, Kai made no move to reject it; in fact, he reciprocated the gesture, burying his face in his father chest.

"Dad..." Kai's voice came out as muffled, but there was no mistaking the sadness and joy mingled in the single word.

"There's no need to say anything, Kai..." came the gentle reply.

Chairman Daitouji was sniffling into his handkerchief; the kindly old man was rather given to emotions, especially at tear-jerking moments such as this, but he was not the least bit intent on hiding it. Hiromi, too, was dabbing at her eyes.

Takao was smiling, albeit a little watery. He had seen this coming; he knew that Kai could not hold back for long. Even though he couldn't see his captain's face, he knew, he could feel it, that Kai was finally letting loose his emotions.

Kai's father was crying happily; he had expected something a little more hostile from his son – Kai was not exactly the forgiving sort – but was pleased that circumstances had proved him wrong.

It seemed an eternity before father and son broke away. Kai gazed into his father's eyes. "I never thought I'd see you again…" he said, his voice wobbling as he tried to bring it back to the emotionless monotone he so often used, but not quite succeeding. "I thought that you-"

"Whatever you thought, Kai," Yuuhi interrupted, kneeling down and putting both hands on both of Kai's shoulders, "It doesn't matter now. What happened between me and your grandfather is in the past, along with everything else that's happened to you."

"I…you're right, Dad…" Kai smiled broadly through the last traces of tears. "It's time to let bygones be bygones…"

"And face the future-" Yuuhi added.

"With or without each other, because no matter what happens, we'll be together in spirit." They finished. Father and son glanced at each other

"You still remember it!" they exclaimed at the same time. Then, realizing that they said the same thing at the same time _again_, they broke into grins.

"What was _that_ all about?" Takao whispered loudly. "Some sort of game?"

This time, Kai heard what his teammate said. "No, Takao, it's a saying that my dad taught me long ago, when I was still young." He wiped away the last few tears, and then turned to face the group; he wasn't smiling anymore, but at least his face wasn't…as emotionless as usual.

Max smiled. "_Now_ you look like your old self."

"Whatever, Max…" Kai said. He turned to his father. "Dad," he began, the old authority returning to his voice, "I'd like you to meet my teammates: Kinomiya Takao, Mizuhara Max, Rei Kon, and Kyouju, our resident blade researcher."

Takao stepped forward. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." He extended a hand, and Yuuhi took it.

"Likewise, Takao."

One by one, the rest of Team BBA approached and shook hands with the older Hiwatari. Kai didn't need to introduce Hiromi and the others – it was almost certain that Yuuhi would remember them, which he did.

Slowly, the group returned to the garden to resume dinner, and the atmosphere reverted back to a relaxed and peaceful one – if you didn't count the fact that Takao managed to get on Hiromi's nerves more than once in the span of an hour, and ended up being chased all over the garden. And then, approximately ten minutes after their last chase…

_Splash_!

"Yaaagh!" Hiromi screamed, as much as in shock as in fury. Takao, an empty cup in his hand, slowly backed away.

"C-calm down, Hiromi…accidents _will_ happen, you know…" he said, his voice shaky. He did _not_ like the look in the auburn-haired teen's eyes. He turned tail and fled, screaming "Heeeelp!"

"You get back here, Kinomiya!" Hiromi yelled, shaking her fist as she ran after the swiftly retreating brunette. "This was my best shirt!"

The other teens laughed. Yes, it was just getting to be just another friendly gathering for them.

* * *

Kai sighed, staring down at the blank page in his journal. He had snuck off from the gathering, where almost everyone was telling horrible jokes, and up here to his room. He needed some time to be by himself, and had taken the opportunity to do so. 

He uncapped the pen and began to write.

_Kai's Log; August 13th_

_Time: 10:04.15_

_I still can't believe it. It's like a crazy dream come true._

_Over the past few hours, my worst fears had been disproved: Dad is most certainly **not** dead. In fact, he attended the gathering Chairman Daitouji had arranged here, at our retreat and training facility in the Japanese Alps._

_Yes, it felt good to see him again after all these years, and I'm happy to know that since Grandfather is behind bars for what he did in the first World Championships so Dad and I can enjoy the rest of our time together. However, I'm still rather confused on how I should act towards him. Part of me is still angry because he left me all those years ago. I know, it's pretty childish hanging on to that, but I can't help it; some people are just like that. Perhaps it does some good; I'd like to find out what it is._

_Eons I've wandered across the land  
Alone to face my fears…  
No one was there to take my hand  
Nobody wiped away the tears…_

_Hanging on to the desire of yesterday  
Unable to forget and to move on…  
Hopelessly blinded that I didn't see the way…  
Bitterly ungrateful for the new day that dawned…_

_But now I know the errors I committed…  
This life of solitude now will end…  
My broken mind and spirit now have been mended…  
I was never alone, and never will be again…_

_

* * *

_

A/N: There! All done! So...what do you guys think of the ending? Please tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

For you guys out there who've been expecting a longer story, I'm really, _really_ sorry! I, too, expected it would be longer than 12 chapters (is that right?), but it can't be helped. I've already covered everything I wanted to cover with this storyline. However, I've been contemplating on whether I should write a sequel or not, so send those votes in! Oh, and while you're at it, why don't you check out 'The First of Their Kind', or 'Once in The Future' (for those who haven't read any of the mentioned stories, that is)? I'm kind of in a jam in the former; I can't think up a blasted team name for the OC team; Team Millenium sounds so...bleah. So like mentioned in one of the posted chapters, any suggestions for team names are highly appreciated.

And of course, a **VERY** big thank you to those who've stuck with me through the course of this story! You know who you are, so: THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH! I't's been a pleasure getting to know you guys!

Dewa matta! Peace out!


	13. Explanation

No doubt the story left you feeling rather confused, right? If so, then you should read _this_. No, it's not an additional chapter to the story; rather, this is where I, the authoress, explain a few things that were tackled in 'Revelation'.

I'm sure that for most of you, the really confusing part of the story was that pertaining to the destruction of Balkov Abbey being nothing but a 'programmed memory', so to speak. Intertwined with that is the tale of Kai's father being banished because of his love for Beyblades and Beyblade designing; in the course of this, Kai's father is forced to abandon his son.

The latter is actually the true tale of Kai, having been revealed in the comic book, or _manga_ version _Bakuten Shoot Beyblade_, particularly Volume 3. In that volume, during the finals between Kai and Takao, the former said that his intention was to beat Takao and claim Dragoon for himself, and afterwards, claim the _other_ two sacred beasts, Draciel and Driger; then, he would utilize the four beasts' power to ultimately destroy _all_ Beyblades in existence. His reason: three years ago, Souichirou/Souchirou Hiwatari (I'm not so sure of the spelling), had banished his son – Kai's father – because he was 'shirking his duties to the company. That time, Kai's dad (I don't know his name) was an employee of Hiwatari Enterprises, obviously the family business. However, he was more interested in designing and producing a particular Beyblade – which in the _manga_, is actually what we know as Dranzer S – the prototype of which he'd promised to give to Kai when it was finished.

Also in the _manga_, it is revealed that _both_ of Kai's parents are very much alive – although his mother doesn't appear very much, and when she does, readers have absolutely _no _idea who she is – whereas the anime portrays him as having mysteriously appeared out of nowhere, which leaves a lot of viewers wondering about his true heritage: is Kai Japanese or Russian? Some fanfiction writers (myself included, initially) believe the latter, but it is in fact the former that is true. For those of you in America who are lucky enough to have several volumes of Beyblade comics, I suggest you take a look at Volume 3 and look for the woman whom Kai is reaching for in one of the panels in the flashback – Yup! That's Kai's mom.

As for the memory modification thing, the idea just came to me one day. See, I was trying to relate the 'Balkov Abbey Incident' – Kai's past in the anime version – and the _real_ (manga) version of his past. I was having trouble tying the two together. And then it hit me: memory modification. Balkov, being the genius (!) that he is, could be capable of such a feat, and I decided to just associate the two (Balkov and Souichirou), so that the former would have a _reason_ to perform such an experiment on Kai.

As for the other elements in the story, they're just that – fiction.

I hope that cleared up some things for you. If you're still confused, kindly leave a review or contact me via email and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Thank you, and God Bless! _Dewa matta_!


End file.
